Beside You In Time
by xByakuyaKuchikix
Summary: Ulquihime. Will Orihime and Ulquiorra's relationship flourish after the Cuatro Espada returns seemingly from the dead? Rated T to be safe.
1. Chapter 1

I started writing this probably about a year ago. I decided to start posting it here to get more people to read it. It's up on my devART page, as well, but considering that fact that rarely anyone visits it to read this story... xD

Maybe when I see people reading it here I'll start writing in it again? I started on Chapter 21 a couple months ago but haven't had the time or motivation to check on it or write any more in it.

I'll be posting the first 5 or so chapters today, another 5 tomorrow, etc. etc.

Reviews are greatly appreciated!

I DO NOT OWN BLEACH. TITE KUBO DOES.

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><p>It was just days before the battle. The outcome of the battle would affect not only the World of the Living, but Soul Society and Hueco Mundo as well. Basically, the fate of the universe was perilously hanging by a thread.<p>

Orihime Inoue was racing through the Senkaimon, the dimension between Soul Society and the World of the Living, with numerous thoughts racing through her head. Would she be of any help in the upcoming battle or would she just be in the way? Would there be too many injuries for her to heal? Would someone die protecting her? She shook her head to clear her thoughts.

iI need to stop worrying about it. Worrying never did anyone any good! I must keep my mind from wandering and focus on the present./i

And with that, she ran faster, impatient to get back to the World of the Living. She couldn't wait to see Ichigo's face again. Kurosaki Ichigo. Orihime blushed at just the thought of his name.

iI wonder what he's been doing while I was in Soul Society training… probably training with Urahara-san again, or maybe Yoruichi-san…/i Orihime pondered. Again she shook her head to clear her thoughts and focused on running faster.

She was beginning to wonder how much longer it would take her to reach the end of the Senkaimon, when she suddenly felt a strong source of reiatsu behind her, causing her to stumble to a stop. She turned around in terror as the reiatsu increased tremendously, nearly bringing her to her knees and making it harder to breathe. Orihime had no trouble finding the source of spiritual pressure in the dark tunnel of the Senkaimon. The source was a very strange looking man. He was wearing all white and had an extremely pale complexion. Green tear marks ran from his eyes, which were the same shade of green and conveyed no emotion whatsoever, down his cheeks. The oddest things about this man weren't his emotionless eyes or clothing or pale complexion, it was the hole in his chest, right were his heart should have been, a mask covering half of his head, and the fact that Orihime had never sensed this type of reiatsu before.

_iA hollow hole and mask? But how? Not here in the Senkaimon! And why is his face revealed! None of the hollow's I've ever seen or fought ever had even a portion of their masks broken! And his reiatsu! It's definitely not that of a normal hollow's… This doesn't…/i_

Orihime's thoughts were cut short when the pale-skinned hollow spoke, "Orihime Inoue, come with me. Any form or resistance is futile. If you refuse, I will just drag you to Aizen-sama with my bare hands." His voice was monotonous and emotionless, just like his green eyes. That emotionless tone made him sound all the more menacing.

_iOh no!/i _Orihime thought. i_I'm trapped! Where is Kurosa…/i_

Again her thoughts were cut short, "What's the matter, woman? Can't you speak? Or are you so frightened of me that you cannot make your muscles move?"

"No…" Orihime said, almost inaudibly.

"Then why do you not obey me? You are to come with me, under Aizen-sama's orders," the man motioned with his hands and a garganta appeared behind him.

"I don't want to," Orihime replied, a little louder than before.

_iThis can't be happening,/i_ she thought to herself. i_I have to get back to Kurosaki-kun and Sado-kun and Kuchiki-san and Ishida-kun./i_

"Aizen-sama does not care if you do or do not want to. You are to come with me to Las Noches. I do not wish to repeat myself again," still the man's voice contained no emotion, keeping its menacing tone.

"Please just let me go back home!" Orihime cried. She was beginning to get used to this man's incredible reiatsu and felt it easier to move and breathe.

iMaybe I should make a run for…/i

The man suddenly motioned with his hands again, interrupting her thoughts once more, and four screen-like projections appeared out of thin air. Orihime gasped as she registered what each of the projections was displaying. In each of the screens, one of her beloved friends was strenuously fighting against a powerful opponent.

"Your friends will all die if you do not come with me," the man stated simply.

Seeing that Orihime Inoue did not reply, and lowered her eyes, which were beginning to fill with tears, the man realized she was going to give in more easily than expected. To make sure she would comply without any resistance, he stated, "Twenty-four hours. No more, no less. Say goodbye to one person. If you do not meet me here within twenty-four hours, all of you friends will die a most terrible death."

Without saying a word, with just a simple nod, Orihime turned around and began running towards the end of the Senkaimon. She stumbled often because the tears filling her eyes made her vision blurry. As she saw the exit come into view she finally realized exactly what was happening. She was being kidnapped and dare not resist, as her friends would die as a result of her attempting to escape. Orihime already knew who she would say goodbye to. She also knew that there were many people she wished to say goodbye to, but only one person she felt she i_must/i_ say goodbye to.

The sun was just rising in the east as Orihime stepped out of the Senkaimon. She breathed the fresh Karukura Town air and watched the beautiful sunrise.

_iFor the last time…/i_ she realized. i_What a sad thought. No more walks in the part with Tatsuki-chan or school with Ichigo-kun and the others. /i_

She could go on listing things all day long, but decided against doing so, as it would pull her down deeper into depression. Instead, she spend all day doing the things she wanted to do one last time before heading to Kurosaki Ichigo's house as the sun was beginning to set. It was dark by the time she reached his house and had climbed through his window.

She watched Kurosaki-kun sleeping peacefully for a few minutes before beginning to talk to him, even though she knew he couldn't hear her. She held one of his hands in hers and felt and unbearable pain in her heart.

"So this is goodbye then, Kurosaki-kun. There was so much I wanted to do… so much I wanted to see…" tears were starting to collect in Orihime's eyes. "I wish I had five lives so I could eat five lifetimes worth of food, and have five lifetimes of happiness… and fall in love with the same person five times…"

She could no longer hold her tears back and let them flow freely. Several of them fell off her cheeks onto Ichigo's sleeping face. Before she knew what she was doing, she leaned down to him, as if to kiss him. But right before her lips touched his, she pulled back and smiled melancholically.

"Even now I can't do it," she sighed. "Thank you, Kurosaki-kun… and goodbye."

With those last words, she squeezed his hand one more time and then left the same way she came, silently through the window, glancing back only once to catch one last glimpse of her beloved Kurosaki-san.

Orihime slowly made her way to meet the green-eyed man. She took her time to looked around and take everything in one last time.

_Goodbye, Karukura Town… Goodbye, everyone… Goodbye Kurosaki-kun…_

The man, who's name was Ulquiorra Cifer, waited emotionlessly for the woman to return.

_iHumans really are pathetic creatures, aren't they? Finding comfort in saying goodbye and…/i_

This time it was Ulquiorra's thoughts that were cut short. Orihime appeared and walked closer to him.

"Are you afraid?" he questioned her resolve.

"No," Orihime's voice rang true and clear.

"You humans really are foolish beings. Pretending to understand one another and sharing each other's feelings."

When the woman didn't reply, Ulquiorra opened the garganta once more and motioned for her to follow him.

"Do not try to run. Do not try to escape," Ulquiorra's voice still did not register any emotion at all, sounding just as threatening as the day before.

It did not take long at all before they reached Las Noches in Hueco Mundo. Neither of the two had much time to think about anything too intensely while in the garganta. Neither said a word to the other. Ulquiorra walked steadily, emotionlessly, like always, while Orihime had her eyes focused on the ground holding back tears.

Orihime didn't even notice the enormous size of the palace Las Noches as they walked through the hallways for what seemed like hours, as she was too caught up in her thoughts. Eventually, Ulquiorra opened a door and went inside. Orihime hesitated, then followed.

The room was very plain. White walls, white carpet, white bed. Everything was white, just like Ulquiorra's clothing, the walls of Hueco Mundo, even the sand outside was a shade of white. Ulquiorra pretended not to see Orihime notice the dark Hueco Mundo sky with the Hueco Mundo moon through a small, square-shaped window high up on the far wall.

"This is to be your room," Ulquiorra stated matter-of-factly. "I will be back with your meal later today."

The only sign that Orihime gave him that she heard him was a slight nod and a quiet "Hai." Ulquiorra was beginning to become agitated at this woman's poor manners. Before she could irritate him further, he turned around and headed towards the door.

"What is your name?" Orihime asked, without looking his way and barely audible.

Ulquiorra was surprised she had asked him such a simple question.

"Ulquiorra Cifer."

He received no sign from Orihime that she had heard him, so he briskly made his way out of her room.

_iWhat an odd woman,/i _Ulquiorra thought. His thoughts began evaluating her actions and decided none of them added up to normal human behavior.

i_Stop thinking about her!/i _He commanded himself. Why should he care if she was abnormal or not? He was to bring her here, which he did. He was to take care of her and bring her meals, which he was doing. So why was he beginning to become intrigued by this woman, and over such a short time period, which slightly alarmed him.

While he tried to clear his mind of the woman, his face stayed emotionless as usual, not revealing a single sign that his mind was in turmoil.

He was so caught up in his thoughts, he did not notice he had a strange feeling inside of him, right where his heart should have been. But as quickly as it began, his mind and unnoticed feeling calmed down when he reached Aizen-sama's throne room to report to him that he had successfully kidnapped the woman and brought her to Las Noches. Ulquiorra did not hesitate an instant at the enormous door. Instead, he knocked once, crisply, and then entered quietly, with the same emotionless face and eyes as always...

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><p>Review please! :)<br>And thank you for reading.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2: Leave A Mark

"Good job, Ulquiorra," Aizen Sosuke was extremely pleased with how easily Ulquiorra Cifer had convinced Orihime Inoue to come with him to Las Noches. Everything seemed to be falling into place perfectly…

"Thank you, Aizen-sama. Now if you would excuse me I need to bring the woman her meal."

Lord Aizen nodded, and Ulquiorra took his leave, never suspecting anything about Aizen-sama's plans for the woman.

On his way to the woman's room, Ulquiorra felt slightly off, though at first he could not pinpoint the reason. The closer he got the room the more the feeling increased. He was no fool, so he soon realized the odd feeling resembled that of excitement.

iThe woman,/i Ulquiorra thought, disgusted. Why would he ever feel excited to see the woman? The woman whom he kidnapped under Aizen-sama's orders? The simple minded ihuman/i woman?

Before his mind could conjure up further thoughts of the source of his excitement, the woman, he cleared his mind and focused his mind on the tray in his hand so he would not spill anything on it (though he could done this blindfolded). Ulquiorra managed to keep his mind clear of thoughts of the woman for the rest of the way to her room, though this did not stifle the feeling of excitement one bit. He knocked on the door once, and then let himself in without waiting for a reply.

Orihime Inoue was sitting on the floor, looking out the window at the moon, with her back to the door. She did not acknowledge his presence or the fact that he was bringing her meal.

Ulquiorra set the tablet of food on the table to the left by the couch, simply said "Woman, I have brought you your meal," and left.

Ulquiorra decided to head back to his own chambers and try and get some rest, though he wasn't tired in the least.

Thoughts of the woman continued to bug him, even in his sleep…

Orihime was lost in thought, seeming not to notice the passing of minutes, of hours. All she could do while locked up in her room was sit and stare out the window at Hueco Mundo's sky and imagine what her friends were doing and if they were looking for her.

iMaybe they're come rescue me,/i she began to think. iNo, I don't want that… They'd just end up dead at the hands of Aizen and his Espada./i

Orihime didn't even notice when Ulquiorra Cifer brought her evening meal, and before she knew it, she began yawning and realizing just how exhausted she was. Slowly, she stood up, took one last glance at the moon, and turned around to go lay on the bed. It was only then that she realized the silver tray of food sitting on the table by the couch.

Orihime became slightly panicked when she thought of Ulquiorra entering her chambers unnoticed.

As she did not want her captors to think she was ungrateful but did not feel like eating, she took the food and hid it under her bed, praying it would not be found.

When Ulquiorra woke up from his restless sleep, he realized it was time to bring the woman her morning meal. He quickly stood up, changed into another completely white outfit, identical to the one he wore on the day before, and grabbed the clothes Aizen-sama had requested he take to Orihime.

After he had prepared the woman's meal in the kitchen in his room, he walked at a brisk pace in the direction of Orihime's room. Again, he felt a hint of excitement at seeing her again.

iWhat a fool I am, excited to see the woman I kidnapped…/i

Ulquiorra's thoughts were interrupted when he came upon his least favorite person in all of Las Noches, Grimmjow. Thought Grimmjow was a fellow Espada, Ulquiorra could not bring himself to consider him an ally, though he didn't necessarily consider him his enemy either.

Ulquiorra pretended to not see Grimmjow and kept walking. Instead of walking by Ulquiorra, he began following him and trying to start up a conversation.

"So you're the one in charge of feeding that girl, huh? You're one lucky bastard. I'd kill to be alone with…"

"Watch yourself Grimmjow. If you lay one finger on that woman, I will have to kill you under Aizen-sama's orders," Ulquiorra snapped, annoyed and, surprisingly, slightly disgusted at Grimmjow's behavior.

"Aizen-sama, Aizen-sama," Grimmjow mocked, rolling his eyes. "That's all you ever say."

"We are Espada. We were created to serve one, and only one purpose: serving Lord Aizen. And that purpose seems to have eluded you completely. What a disappointment of an arrancar you are."

Grimmjow sneered and would have attacked Ulquiorra if they hadn't of reached the woman's room.

iWhat a nuisance,/i Ulquiorra kept a blank expression though he would have loved to punch Grimmjow right then and there.

He was slightly taken aback at his sudden rash thoughts.

Ulquiorra knocked once, and entered without warning, closing the door in Grimmjow's face. Mentally, he sighed, glad that he had at least been able to get rid of Grimmjow. He noticed Orihime was in the same spot as she had been yesterday evening.

"Woman, I have brought your breakfast."

No reply.

Thinking she hadn't heard him, Ulquiorra repeated, a little more loudly this time, "Woman, I have your breakfast."

The only response he got out of her was a slight now. Now he was beginning to get agitated and stepped in front of the Orihime. That was when he saw water glistening on her cheeks and in her eyes. Her eyes seemed to stare right through him, focusing on something in another dimension.

Again he thought what a peculiar human Orihime Inoue was. He did not realize until later that this was the moment his subconscious became completely engulfed in this woman's odd behavior and manner.

"What is the matter? Why is there water in your eyes and on your face?" he spoke without realizing it until the words were already out of his mouth. He internally cursed himself for letting his guard down and being overly curious about Orihime. But what did it matter? He was to be spending some time with her every day, so why not learn more about humans?

iSuch insolent thoughts./i

He snapped back to reality when the woman quietly answered, "I'm crying. These are tears for my friends." Her voice was surprisingly tender and soft, not full of hatred like Ulquiorra would expect from his captor. Instead they sounded like she pitied him for not knowing what tears were.

"Why do you cry for them?" Again, Ulquiorra cursed himself for asking her unimportant questions.

"I miss them."

She said nothing more to him. Ulquiorra stood there for minute before making his way across the room, towards the door.

"I will return in two hours to collect the tray. Also, I have provided you with a change of clothes. Aizen-sama requests you to change into them immediately," this was all Ulquiorra said before leaving and shutting the door silently behind him. He quickly and silently made his way to his own chambers, where he shut the door as well.

Thought after thought ran through his head about the peculiarity of that woman, Orihime Inoue. This time he did not stop the onslaught of thoughts. He did not try to push them back, instead he took his time trying to examine and dissect each one. The entire time he had an odd sensation within his chest, right where his hollow hole was. It was only was slowly made his way back to Orihime's room that the feeling began to let up.

iWhat a fool I am. Becoming interested in a mere human./i

Several days went by, following the same routine. Wake up, bring the woman her breakfast, go to meetings with the other Espada, bring the woman her lunch, spend time alone thinking of all kinds of things, mainly focusing on inot/i focusing on the woman, bring the woman her dinner, go to sleep.

Then on the eighth day after Orihime Inoue's arrival in Las Noches, the routine changed slightly.

Orihime Inoue had not moved an inch from the spot she had been sitting in for the past few hours. Her mind was back in Karukura Town, wondering what everyone thought had happened to her. She wondered what Soul Society and the Shinigami in Karukura Town were doing to prepare for the battle.

After a while Orihime's mind wandered back to the peculiar visit she had received from the Espada in charge of feeding her several days ago. Why had he asked her what she was doing? Or why she was crying?

iMaybe he's got a heart after all…/i Orihime thought quietly.

Just as she pondered this thought, she heard one, crisp knock and the door open. Without having to turn and look to see who it was, she knew it was Ulquiorra Cifer.

"I have brought you your breakfast, woman," For the past few days, Ulquiorra had managed not to speak to the Orihime unless it was to inform her about her meal.

"Orihime," was all she said.

Ulquiorra was slightly puzzled until he realized she wanted him to call her Orihime instead of woman. He did not reply.

iWhat a strange woman. Even though I am her enemy, she wants me to call her by her name./i

Ulquiorra stood there for several minutes before walking over to where Orihime sat on the floor. It was only then that he realized her pale and sunken her face looked. It did not take a genius to realize this was from lack of nutrition. He quickly scanned the room and immediately saw the food hidden under her bed.

"Woman why have yo…"

"Orihime," was all she said.

He sighed and then continued, "Orihime Inoue, why have you not eaten? Aizen-sama will be perturbed to hear about this. If you do not eat, I will be forced to force feed you myself."

She smiled slightly when she heard him call her by her full name.

"I am not hungry," was the woman's simple reply.

Ulquiorra turned and headed to the door. Before he left, he turned to face Orihime and said, not quite so threateningly, "If you have not eaten your food by the time I return after Aizen-sama's meeting, I will force it down your throat."

And with that, he quickly left. Without hesitation, Ulquiorra made his way to Lord Aizen's throne room.

The meeting was uneventful, the same as every day. Grimmjow was complaining about everything and anything, Halibel was ready to tear Nnoitra's head off, Nnoitra was annoying the hell out of Halibel, egging her on, Wonderweiss was staring off into space drooling, Yammy was bored out of his mind, and all the other Espada were paying attention to Aizen-sama as best they could with all of the distractions going on around them.

As soon as the meeting was adjourned, Ulquiorra made his way to Orihime's room, with that growing sense of excitement as always. He had now become accustomed to it and barely even paid any attention to it.

He was almost at the door to Orihime's room when he felt a familiar reiatsu coming from inside. Suddenly, with a quick burst of anger, he stormed through Orihime's door, just to find Grimmjow pinning the weakened Orihime down against the floor.

"Grimmjow," Ulquiorra hissed. "Get off of the woman right now, before I report this to Aizen-sama."

"There you go again. Aizen-sama, Aizen-sama. I've heard enough of that shit. And why do you care what I do to this woman?"

"I am in charge of protecting her," Ulquiorra's mind told him that was not the only reason he felt angry at Grimmjow. "I won't repeat myself. Unhand Orihime Inoue and leave."

Grimmjow grumbled and slowly, reluctantly stood up and left.

"Th-thank you," Orihime stammered slightly, shocked. Ulquiorra did not reply. Instead he noticed she hadn't touched her food.

"Did I not tell you I would force this down your throat if you did not eat?" Ulquiorra picked up an already peeled orange and walked over to the woman.

Instead of force feeding her, he simply handed her the orange, stood up, and went to sit down on the couch.

Orihime had clamped her eyes shut as she saw the Espada approach her. She no longer felt thankful to him, but once again afraid of him hurting her. When she felt him place the orange in her hand, she opened her eyes in amazement only to see him sitting on the couch, several feet away from her.

iW-what? He didn't force feed me? But…/i

"Eat," he commanded emotionlessly.

"Hai!" Orihime hastily ate the orange.

It was amazing how fast Ulquiorra saw color return to her skin, and life returning to her eyes.

iShe's the most peculiar human I have ever met,/i was all Ulquiorra could think.

This time, he did not curse himself for wondering about her. He had grown accustomed to thinking about her whenever he was not focused on something else.

Even if he saw color returning to her skin and light returning to her eyes, he wasn't foolish enough to believe that she was fine. He could tell that something was slightly off, like it always off.

It disturbed him slightly that he could sense she wasn't behaving as her normal self, as they had only known each other for a little over a week, and only spent a few minutes together every day.

Suddenly, the woman glanced up to see him watching her. She looked down again. Ulquiorra noticed her cheeks turning a darker shade of red.

"What is it, woman?"

"Huh? Oh, nothing…" Orihime's face became ever darker.

iWhat is this feeling?/i was all that Orihime could think. iI couldn't possibly have any feelings for him. Not after such a short amount of time, and especially not since he's my captor! But… what is this feeling? It's like my heart flutters every time our eyes meet…/i

iWhat was that look in her eyes…?/i

Before she knew what she was doing, Orihime stood up and slowly made her way to the couch, smiling shyly. She sat down next to him and asked him, "Why did you save me? Aren't I the enemy?"

Ulquiorra stared in amazement as Orihime Inoue made her way slowly, yet fearlessly, towards him. As she sat down next to him, the words that escaped from her mouth were completely unexpected.

"Why did you save me? Aren't I the enemy?"

It took Ulquiorra a minute to compose his thoughts enough to answer in his usual monotonous voice, "Lord Aizen has commanded me to protect y…"

He couldn't even finish his sentence.

Orihime wasn't really listening to Ulquiorra's answer. Instead she slowly leaned closer to him until their noses were touching. It took Ulquiorra a minute to realize what was happening. Slowly Orihime closed her eyes and closed the remaining inches between their lips…

At first Ulquiorra was shocked, but in a good way. He had never kissed nor been kissed before. He wondered if it was the same for the woman kissing him for the first time, Orihime Inoue.

Her first kiss. It wasn't anything like she had ever imagined it to be. On the contrary, it was far better than anything he imagination could have conjured up. She had noticed that it took Ulquiorra to recover from the slightly shocked reaction. Then she had felt him responding to her lips and how he had begun to tenderly kiss her back.

iSo even an Espada has the ability for tenderness…/i Orihime thought.

Ulquiorra knew that if he stayed much longer this innocent kissing could (and most likely would) end up being something no-so-innocent. He had already moved his hands to Orihime's waists, and she had moved her arms to his neck. He decided to kiss her neck just once before he would tell her he had to go.

He slowly moved his mouth down from her mouth to her neck, noticing her slight surprise. With one last quick peck on her cheek, he released his arms from her waist and removed her arms from his neck.

Orihime seemed to understand the reasons for Ulquiorra's actions, and did not fight it, because of the innocent person she was.

"I have to get going," he said quietly, his voice not sounding as emotionless as usual. It was actually filled with the tiniest hint of regret. "If I stay here much longer someone will notice. Also, I must report Grimmjow's… rude behavior to Aizen-sama."

Orihime nodded.

Without another word, Ulquiorra got up and walked slowly towards the door.

He turned around to tell Orihime to eat some of her food, but couldn't get a word out of his mouth, as she had silently followed him and when he turned around decided to kiss him one last time. This time it was just a quick kiss, not long and drawn out as it had been the last time.

"Thank you," Orihime said, thanking him once more for saving her from Grimmjow's vicious plans.

Orihime thought she saw even the slightest hint of a smile twitching on Ulquiorra's lips. She smiled brightly at him, while her mind was still processing everything that had happened in the past few minutes.

iWow,/i was all she could think at first.

iHe really does have feelings and a soft spot…/i

She sighed sadly as the green-eyed Espada took one last glance at her before leaving her room and shutting the door behind him.

Ulquiorra Cifer's mind was in overload mode, but as was normal, his outward appearance revealed nothing of his inner mind's thoughts. He swiftly made his way to Aizen-sama's throne room, being sure to concentrate on what he needed to tell him so he would not seem the least bit distracted.

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><p>Review please!<p> 


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter Three

bTorn/b

iA little over a week ago, back in the World of the Living…/i

Kurosaki Ichigo woke up abruptly when Kon was thrown at him by Kuchiki Rukia, who had let herself in by means of his second story window.

"What the…" Kurosaki was furious.

Rukia seemed to ignore his rude greeting, partly because she was not expecting anything else since she had thrown the Artificial Soul at him and mostly because of the panicked look in her eyes.

"Where is Inoue?"

"What!" Ichigo's and Kon's voices chimed together. Ichigo grabbed Kon and stuffed his face into his pillow. Only muffled complains were heard. Ichigo focused back on Rukia.

"Inoue's reiatsu was gone when I woke up this morning. I ran all over town, following the slight trail of spiritual energy she left behind, and it's the strongest here, in your room," Rukia hastily explained, glancing around his room as if she would see Orihime hiding behind Ichigo's dresser.

Ichigo focused on sensing Orihime's reiatsu, and sure enough, he could sense it here in his room.

iWhy would Inoue have been in my room while I was asleep? And why can't Rukia or I detect her reiatsu anywhere? What the hell is going on? /i

"The strangest thing besides her reiatsu disappearing entirely is the fact that her reiatsu trail ends abruptly. It's as if she just evaporated into thin air…" Rukia's face was troubled and trying to think of where on earth Orihime Inoue possibly could have gone.

Little did either of the two know that Orihime was in Las Noches, the captive of Aizen Sosuke and the Cuatro Espada, Ulquiorra Cifer.

iBack in Hueco Mundo…/i

Ulquiorra Cifer hastily made his way to Lord Aizen's throne room, thoughts racing through his head of the woman back in the room she was locked up in. Unlike the first few days after Orihime Inoue's arrival, Ulquiorra no longer pushed the thoughts from his conscious or internally cursed himself for such thoughts.

iJust a week ago, I despised that human woman. Now I have grown closer to her, breaking my habits and becoming even /idependanti on her…/i

As the green-eyed Espada reached the throne room of his master, Lord Aizen, he swiftly cleared his mind and intensified the blank, emotionless expression on his face. He knocked on the door and entered.

Orihime Inoue had no clue what had taken over her mind to make her act like she had.

iI don't regret kissing him… but I feel like I've betrayed everyone, especially Kurosaki-kun…/i a sudden guilt filled her heart, and a lonely tear escaped from her eyes, slowly rolling down her cheek.

As she stared up at the moon through the only window in her room, she wished that Kurosaki Ichigo would just forget she had ever existed. She wished that he would not try to save her, and get killed in the process. She wished upon the lonely Hueco Mundo moon that she could erase her friends' memories of her.

She realized how depressing her thoughts had become over the past week, and wondered what she could do about it. Orihime knew she would go insane if left alone in her white chamber too long. She already began to feel slightly insane, as she began to talk to nobody in particular.

"I wonder if there are seasons here in Hueco Mundo… Does it ever rain? What about winds? Do…"

Orihime's thoughts were caught short as the door opened without warning. She didn't have to look to know it was not Ulquiorra. He always knocked. She also didn't have to look to know who it iwas/i. The familiar reiatsu terrified her. Had she had somewhere to run to, she would have taken off running faster than she ever thought she could have run. Before her body could completely react to her thoughts, and before she could process what was happening, two strong arms spun her around and pinned her against the closest wall.

"Who are you talking to, girl?" a smirk spread across the blue-haired Espada. Orihime flinched. He was way to close for her to ever feel comfortable with.

Grimmjow Jeagerjaques removed one of his hands pinning one of Orihime's arms to the wall and used it to grip her chin too tightly. Orihime began to resist and struggle to get free. In response the Espada just tighten his grip on her face and arm until she cried out in pain.

"What are you going to do now that your precious Ulquiorra," he sneered the named, "isn't here to save you?"

iWhy? Why why why why why?/i was all Orihime's mind could ask. She couldn't comprehend the cruel and sadistic thoughts that were running through Grimmjow's head.

iUlquiorra… where are you?/i Orihime whimpered as Grimmjow removed his hand from her face to remove her clothes.

Before he could even open the first button or unzip the first zipper, Ulquiorra Cifer stormed in.

"Aw, shit," Grimmjow growled, letting go of Orihime and heading towards the door.

"Grimmjow Jeagerjaques, Aizen-sama has commanded me to tell you that if you lay your finger on that woman one more time, he will be forced to eliminate you. Also, if you disobey his orders again, he said he will remove your title of Espada and throw you out of Las Noches once and for all," Ulquiorra's voice was even more threatening then usual.

iIs that even possible?/i Orihime thought humorously, relieved and glad he had saved her yet again. Though the tone of his voice bothered her slightly, she did not mind as much as she would have a week ago.

Grimmjow hissed something inaudible at Ulquiorra as he headed out the door.

iHad I been a second later…/i Ulquiorra didn't want to think about what might have happened. Just a minute ago he had been walking back to the woman's room, neither taking his time nor racing to get there. He was thinking about the odd meeting her had had with Aizen-sama.

iAizen Sosuke pulled something out of his pocket. Ulquiorra was surprised at

what it was. The Hogyoku! Why would Lord Aizen show him this…?

Then he had spoken, "Ulquiorra, you are my most trusted Espada. I am showing

you this as this is the reason the woman is here. She is to reactivate it using her

unique abilities."

Ulquiorra had sad nothing, instead he had nodded slightly.

"Now back to the matter at hand… you said that Grimmjow was causing

problems and harming Orihime Inoue? Tell him he will be eliminated by me

personally if he lays his fingers on her and will be thrown out of Las Noches and

loose his rank as an Espada if he disobeys me ever again."

"Hai," was Ulquiorra's simple reply. He was wondering why Aizen-sama had

shown him the Hogyoku.

"Also, tell Orihime Inoue that I wish to meet with her tomorrow sometime after

you bring her breakfast to her," Aizen paused for a moment, thinking if there was

anything else that he wished to tell his most trusted Espada. As could think of

nothing more, he simply said, "You are dismissed."

Ulquiorra stood up, bowed, and walked out the door. /i

He had been walking several minutes when he suddenly felt Grimmjow's reiatsu. And sure enough, it was coming from the woman's chambers. He had hurriedly Sonidoed to Orihime's room, rushed in, only to find he had made it just in time: Grimmjow's hand had been set on undoing the woman's shirt.

Ulquiorra watched Grimmjow leave the room. The green-eyed man Sonidoed, to the door, closed it, and then turned around to face Orihime.

Orihime was looking at him with tears in her eyes, thankful that he had come at the time he had.

"I am sorry I did not make it back earlier, woman."

iSo he is back to woman?/i Orihime sighed internally.

Before she knew what happened, she found herself sitting on the couch in Ulquiorra's arms. He quickly and quietly set her down next to him.

"I will go get us something to eat. I am sure you are hungry. Rest assured that no one will disturb or harm you while I am gone."

iUs? We're eating together today?/i Orihime decided she would enjoy the company. Orihime nodded and smiled slightly at him before he disappeared.

While she waited for him to return, she lay down on the couch and dozed off and began to dream…

iShe was locked up in a cell somewhere in Las Noches. All of the Espada, except Ulquiorra, were standing outside of the bars, pointing and laughing at her as if she were a while animal at a circus. She was crying and covered in dirt.

Why wasn't anyone stopping them? Why didn't Kurosaki-kun or Ulquiorra-san come to save her?

Suddenly there was a flash and she saw Ulquiorra Sonido into her cell, pick her up, and disappear with her. They reappeared in another room. Instinctively she knew it was Ulquiorra's room.

"This is the only place we are safe for now," Ulquiorra said, setting Orihime down and going to close the door. Orihime was relieved that she had been saved. Once her savior had closed the door, she slowly got up and walked over to him.

"Umm… Ulquiorra-sama?" That was the first time she had addressed him this way. He turned around, his eyes slightly surprised for a split second.

"Thank you," Orihime closed the distance between them and hugged him. Ulquiorra was unsure of himself, but slowly copied her movements and wrapped his arms around her.

Orihime realized that his reluctance had come from the fact that he had never been given a hug before. This made her slightly sad. /i

Ulquiorra hurried back to Orihime's room, worried that another one of his fellow Espada would decide to drop in to see the woman. It didn't take him more than a minute to Sonido across the palace to her room. He knocked once, and then entered quietly, just like always.

He was about to announce his arrival, when he realized that Orihime was napping peacefully on the white couch in the middle of the room. He silently set the tray down on the table next to the couch and watched her sleep for a minute.

He was about to turn around and leave, when he heard her quietly sigh, "Ulquiorra-sama…"

He turned to look at her, eyes widened a fraction of a centimeter. The way she had said his name made him shiver, even though he wasn't cold. His mind began to try and analyze his feelings, but could not put a name to any of them. Ulquiorra knew Orihime was asleep and dreaming, but of what he did not know. Suddenly he felt an urge to know what she was seeing behind her closed eyes. He knew she was seeing him, and guessing from the sound of her voice, which was neither seductive nor sad but rather tender, she was probably imagining some form of human affection.

Ulquiorra, who had given up pushing such thoughts from his mind yesterday, sat down on the floor in front of the couch and watched her sleep. Without thinking, his hand reached out to grab hers. He examined her hand in his, it's contours and shape, the light color of her skin, the way her fingers curled slightly inward as she slept…

He didn't realize she had woken up until she spoke.

Orihime slowly fluttered her eyes open, feeling something touching her hands. She moved her eyes to see, and was surprised that Ulquiorra was sitting in front of the couch with her hand in his. She smiled slightly, peacefully.

"What are you doing?" she finally asked, curiously.

He glanced up as soon as she said these words and let go of her hand.

"I… I brought our meal. Also, I did not want to wake you. But I became so intrigued by how peacefully you were sleeping; I could not bring myself to wake you up."

Even though Ulquiorra's voice was still emotionless, and his tone very official and matter-of-fact, Orihime could sense his slight embarrassment at being caught.

She smiled at him.

iWhat are these feelings? Embarrassment and...? What's the second feeling? My hollow hole feels strange… it feels as if there was something inside of it, warming me. And all because of that woman's innocent smile…/i

iMeanwhile, in the World of the Living…/i

Everyone was training to prepare for the battle that was soon to come.

After having searched in every possibly corner of Karukura Town, Rukia and Ichigo were told by the Captain Commander, Genryuusai Yamamoto, that Orihime Inoue had become a traitor and was now in Las Noches as one of the enemies.

Rukia and the rest of the Shinigami from Soul Society were ordered to return at once. This left Ichigo even more determined to find a way to get to Hueco Mundo…

iAnd back in Hueco Mundo…/i

Ulquiorra Cifer and Orihime Inoue were eating their meal. Neither said a word. When their eyes locked for even just a split second, Orihime's cheeks would burn bright red and she would look down at her food.

iWho would have thought that I would grow attached to an Espada…/i Orihime wondered, astonished. She still felt slightly guilty, though for what exactly she did not know.

Suddenly, Ulquiorra broke the silence, "Aizen-sama requested that tomorrow you meet with him. He wishes to speak to you."

"Hai!" Orihime replied, trying to sound cheerful enough through her mouth full of food so that Ulquiorra wouldn't notice her fear of meeting Lord Aizen for the first time.

Orihime thought that she had hidden her fear until they had finished eating and were sitting on the couch.

"Why do you fear Aizen-sama?" Ulquiorra broke the silence once more.

"I… I don't know. He's… well, my enemy," Orihime said, realizing only afterwards that this made Ulquiorra her enemy too.

She looked up to check his expression, wanting to know if she had offended or angered him. Orihime should have known that his face would be just a stoic as ever. He looked up when he felt her eyes on him locking eyes with her. Again, Orihime was the first to look away, turning slightly red just like before except this time it was more from embarrassment and guilt…

iShe is correct. I am her enemy, and it seems that we have forgotten this, iUlquiorra continued eating in silence. iShe knows I am her enemy, yet she treats me as if I were one of her beloved humans. i

Ulquiorra was slightly repulsed by his thoughts. He had stooped down to the woman's level, to the ihuman's/i level.

He knew full well that the woman was awakening feelings and instincts he had never before felt in his entire existence as a hollow. Yet he had no way of comprehending what consequences these feelings and instincts would bring with them. He could not grasp the fact that these simple and innocent feelings could, and would, progress into something far beyond anything he could have ever imagined.

iI should have never said a word… I should have just agreed to see Aizen and let it go. When he asked why I was scared, I should have lied, /ithe guilt that was eating Orihime Inoue alive wouldn't subside, no matter how many more minutes their shared meal would drag out.

She sighed, ignoring the glance Ulquiorra gave her.

Suddenly her thoughts wandered back to the World of the Living. A new wave of guilt washed over her as she thought of Kurosaki-kun.

iI'm sorry, Kurosaki-kun…/i a tear escaped from her guilty heart as she turned to gaze out the window.

"Woman, I forbid you to cry," Ulquiorra interrupted Orihime's guilty conscious.

At this she looked at him, rather surprised. Before she knew what was happening, Ulquiorra was next to her chair, wiping the single tear from her cheek. The next second he was once again sitting on the opposite side of the table, as if he had not done anything.

Was she beginning to hallucinate in her current state? Was she so lonely, even with the company of Ulquiorra Cifer, that she was going insane?

She imagined herself in a padded white room…

/iNot so much different from where I am now,/i Orihime looked around her room.

"Maybe I really have gone insane," she didn't realize she had thought out loud.

"Why would you think such a thought, woman?" an unexpected reply rang in her ears. She blushed at her foolishness and did not reply.

She got up to walk over to her usual spot were she would stare out the window at the sky, but just as she was going to sit down and was just about to get comfortable, she found herself with her back on the floor staring up into Ulquiorra's eyes. His hair was hanging down and almost touching her skin. She shivered slightly.

At this Ulquiorra picked her up, set her on one end of the couch, and positioned himself on the other end.

He wanted to ask if she was feeling ill. He wanted to know what was wrong. He was worried.

He nearly lost the composed expression on his face when he realized this.

iI'm an Espada, I have no heart, and therefore no feelings, no expressions…/i

He knew he was only lying to himself. Ulquiorra glanced over at Orihime to see her staring at him with a confused and concerned expression on her face. She opened her mouth to say something, but Ulquiorra was faster, know what she was going to ask him.

"I'm fine."

"Ulquiorra-san…"

He looked at her, surprised. She was really worried about him. And she had addressed him as Ulquiorra-san

iHow was she able to tell I was not "fine"? She gazed through my outward appearance… How? What about the way she addressed me? Aren't we enemies?/i

Ulquiorra did not move when he saw Orihime scoot over right beside him and take one of his hands in both of hers, doing exactly what he had done earlier that day.

"It is time for me to leave," as soon as the words were spoken, Ulquiorra regretted them, though he had not the slightest clue why. He saw he had hurt Orihime's feelings. Before his mind could process what he was doing, his instincts took over and he moved one hand to Orihime's chin, pushing it slightly up and looking into her eyes.

He was about to apologize, but Orihime wrapped her arms around him in a warm embrace. Ulquiorra felt her heart beating. She placed her chin on his shoulder and whispered in his ear, "You don't have to apologize."

Ulquiorra's eyes widened slightly, and decided to ignore what his better judgment was telling him and copy Orihime, placing his arms around her.

Orihime's heart was already fluttering when she took Ulquiorra's hand in hers. Now that she had her arms around him, and he has his arms around her, her heart was pounding loudly in her chest and her cheeks were red. She had no doubt that Ulquiorra could feel her heart beating. This only made her blush more.

She remembered her dream and smiled slightly.

iA hug…/i

iWhat are you doing you imbecile?/i Ulquiorra's common sense was shouting at him. Despite his being angry at himself, he did not pull away from the woman's embrace.

To his surprise, Orihime was the first to release her arms from the embrace. But before he knew what hit him, she had moved her hands to his face and kissed him. His instincts were telling him to kiss her back, and his mind was telling him to push her away and leave. His instincts decided for him, and before he knew it he was kissing her back.

iNo no no no no no no!/i Orihime's mind was shouting at her for her behavior. She ignored them, pushing them away. But why was she doing this? She had only just met the man she was kissing… and he wasn't even a human, much less an ally! Orihime Inoue had never thought of anything like this a couple of days ago.

Before either Ulquiorra or Orihime knew it, Orihime was lying on her back on the couch, and Ulquiorra was lying on top of her, supporting most of his weight on his arms. Minutes had gone by, yet their kiss hadn't come to an end.

Finally, Ulquiorra's senses came back. He opened his eyes and quickly got up off of the couch. Orihime seemed to realize what had happened, blushed and looked down at her feet.

Without saying a word, Ulquiorra used one finger to bring her chin up slightly and kiss her one more time before turning around, going to get the tray of empty dishes, and heading towards the door.

"I will return shortly," was all Ulquiorra said before exiting.

Orihime was exhausted. She went to go sit in her usual spot and stared out at the Hueco Mundo sky. Before she knew it, her eyes closed by themselves and she fell asleep on the floor. She began to dream of Ulquiorra, adventures with him in a far off kingdom with her as the princess and him as the demon knight…

Ulquiorra had cleaned up the tray and decided to take a nap before bringing the woman her dinner. It did not take long for him to doze off after he had laid down on his bed…

Nnoitra Gilga took his time making his way to Orihime Inoue's chambers…


	4. Chapter 4

bChapter Four/b

Halfway Gone

i Ulquiorra had cleaned up the tray and decided to take a nap before bringing the woman her dinner. It did not take long for him to doze off after he had laid down on his bed…

/i

Ulquiorra Cifer was sleeping soundly. Little did he know that his captive, Orihime Inoue, was in grave danger. He never noticed a formidable reiatsu nearing Orihime's chambers.

iWhat is this reiatsu? /iOrihime couldn't help but feel a little bit panicked when she realized that the source of the tremendous reiatsu was heading towards her. iWho's spiritual pressure is this?/i

She did not have to wait long for her answer. The door to her chamber was flung open without and warning. Orihime's eyes were wide with fear when she saw the menacing-looking Espada standing in the doorway. He was wearing the same white outfit that everyone else in Las Noches wore and had yet black hair. His eyes were narrow, and all of his features long and narrow.

She jumped when he began to speak, "What the hell are you scared for?" An evil grin was plastered across his face. Orihime could nearly taste the amusement radiating off of the Espada. With a sudden burst of reiatsu on his part, Orihime was brought to her knees.

Out of pure instinct, Orihime scrambled away, not bothering to stand up since she knew the man would just force her down again. She moved all the way to the far corner of the room without taking her eyes off of the lanky Espada; He never moved an inch. Instead his smirk just seemed to be getting bigger until it reached from ear to ear.

When he saw she couldn't back up away from him any further, the Espada slowly began to make his way over to Orihime.

Orihime's mind was in a complete state of terror and panic.

iUlquiorra… where are you?/i Her thoughts automatically went to her captor. She frantically searched for his reiatsu, hoping to find it near. To her dismay, she noticed his relaxed, sleeping spiritual pressure rather far away, in another part of Las Noches.

Orihime watched in terror as the menacing figure was slowly nearing her, only a couple of yards away from her now.

Just as the Espada reached her and was going to reach his arm out to pull Orihime off of the floor, the frightened girl shouted, "Santen Kesshun!"

The Espada's grin nearly vanished as he quickly pulled his hand back.

He growled something profane, making Orihime flinch at his words.

With a sudden burst of unimaginably strong reiatsu, the Espada weakened Orihime further and broke through her shield, grabbed her by her collar and pulling her up…

iMeanwhile…/i

Kurosaki Ichigo was preparing to go to Hueco Mundo alone. Urahara Kisuke had (of course) offered to help Kurosaki after hearing about his determination to save Orihime. Kurosaki was planning on leaving within two days' time…

iBack in Hueco Mundo…/i

Orihime was gasping for air. The ferocious eyes of the Espada glared at her as he growled another profanity at her and tightened his grip on her collar pushing her against the wall behind her with one hand.

With a start Ulquiorra woke up. It took him a minute to regain his senses and realize what had awoken his unusually sound sleep. When the green-eyed Espada realized the tremendous reiatsu that had awoken him and which direction it was coming from, his eyes widened, disturbing his usual stoic expression, even if just for a millisecond.

Quickly, Ulquiorra Cifer made his way to Orihime's chambers.

iI'm going to die,/i Orihime realized. iI'm really going to die this time. /i

The intimidating grin was returning to the Espada's face as Orihime Inoue was struggling weakly, trying in vain to get free of the man's ever tightening grip around her neck.

Orihime flinched again when she say his tongue lick his lips. Was that a tattoo on his tongue? Due to her endless imagination, she was conjuring up every possibly way that this situation could play out. Thinking of some of the more gruesome ways, she gathered her strength and kicked out at the man holding her against the wall (déjà vu much?) by her neck.

The Espada cringed as her foot hit him in a sensitive spot. Orihime noticed him slightly relax his death grip on her for a split second, and used the opening to push him away. She was running away from the Espada when he attacked her from behind. He pushed her cheek into the carpet with one hand and pulled her arms behind her with the other.

"You're such a pain in the ass," he growled in her ear.

Orihime squirmed beneath him, trying with ever growing despair to get away from the threatening Espada.

The man decided to have a little fun with her. He got off of her, letting her scramble away, making her way to the door. Just as she was reaching the doorway, he Sonidoed in front of her, slammed the door shut before her eyes. Disgusted by the pathetic look on the girl's face, the Espada slapped her, causing her to go reeling backwards.

Orihime cried out in pain as she hit the floor only feet away from the Espada. Her terrified eyes were glued to his ominous ones.

iWhy, why, why, why, why?/i Orihime was stark with fear. What was this animal going to do to her?

As if on cue with her thoughts, the man closed the distance between the two. Fearing the worst, Orihime curled up into a ball just in time to block a horrendous kick to her stomach with her arm.

Orihime Inoue cried out in pain as she felt her arm snap in two. She looked up at the Espada towering over her figure; his grin just seemed to continually get wider the more pain he caused her. He didn't give her any time to recover from the pain of her arm before kicking her side.

Orihime heard a crunch in her side as the Espada's foot made contact with her ribs. This time Orihime just choked on her pain, tears beginning to stream freely down her face. The girl gave up all hopes of being rescued as her vision first blurred and then began to fade to black. The last thing she saw was the foreboding figure above her raise one of his legs to bring it down with crushing force on her left leg before she passed out.

Ulquiorra Cifer burst into the woman's room just as the Espada brought his foot down onto her left with a sickening snap. He had felt her reiatsu dropping dramatically on his way here, until he was in a state of panic when it nearly completely disappeared. Shocked and furious, yet keeping his stoic expression, Ulquiorra Cifer spoke, "What do you think you are doing in the woman's chambers, Nnoitra Gilga? Must I remind you that Aizen-sama warned you and Grimmjow Jeagerjaques specifically about the consequences of disturbing Orihime Inoue's wellbeing?"

When Nnoitra turned around to face the Cuatro Espada, Ulquiorra just became even more infuriated seeing the amused grin painted on his face.

"If you do not remove yourself from the woman's room and my presence immediately, I will do it myself," Ulquiorra's emotionless voice was even more saturated with menace than usually.

Knowing that Ulquiorra was the stronger of the two Espada and that he would probable have some of his limbs torn off if he stayed, Nnoitra spat several disgraceful insults at the unconscious woman and made his way out of the room.

As soon as Nnoitra was out of the room and the door was securely shut and locked, Ulquiorra rushed over to where Orihime Inoue lay.

The pained expression on Orihime's unconscious face caused something to tingle inside of Ulquiorra.

iWhat is this? It is not a pain… yet it is extremely unpleasant… /i

Turning his attention away from the tingling and to Orihime, Ulquiorra's eagle eyes saw every injury, from the smallest bruise to the broken bones. He did not know how to treat her wounds, as his only responsibility up until now had been to kill. Yes, he knew her wounds were not fatal ones, but he could not stand to see Orihime in pain. The thought of the woman waking up to such pain caused the tingling feeling inside of Ulquiorra to crescendo unimaginable until he couldn't take it anymore.

In one swift, clean motion, Ulquiorra picked Orihime up, Sonidoed to her bed, and every so gently spread her out on it. He paid special attention to the areas where Nnoitra Gilga had broken her bones, being especially careful to avoid contact with them to try and ease the woman's pain.

It seemed like days before Orihime Inoue's eyes slowly fluttered open.

iAm I alive? /iOrihime waited for her eyes to focus on the light. Before they had completely focused, Orihime tried to move.

She gasped internally, too weak physically to voice her pain. Suddenly she felt cold hands pressing on her shoulders trying to gently keep her down and prevent her from moving.

Orihime's eyes finally focused.

iUlquiorra, /iOrihime's eyes shined slightly through her suffering.

"Do not move, woman,"

iEven his stoic façade can be shaken. /iOrihime nodded slightly, glad that at least this form of movement did not cause her to cringe in pain.

iI wish this pain would go away, I don't want to see the faint glimmer of worry in Ulquiorra's eyes, /iOrihime hated herself for a second for causing her captor to have to worry about her. Before she could sink further into her self-hatred, she heard a small voice.

"Orihime-chan," Ayame's voice was extremely worried.

"Guys!" Orihime managed a quiet whisper and a tiny smile as the rest of her powers appeared in front of her.

"Shh, Orihime. You are injured!" Shun'o was even more worried than Ayame.

Orihime would have completely forgotten that Ulquiorra Cifer was sitting beside her had he not spoken.

"Are these the powers that you possess that Aizen-sama spoke of?" Ulquiorra grabbed Tsubaki and examined him. He was intrigued by the fact that Orihime's hairclips had turned into six little fairy-like creatures.

"What the…? Who the hell are you?" Tsubaki was extremely perturbed, squirming and trying to get out of Ulquiorra's grip.

"What an easily provoked creature," Tsubaki's continuing insults did not faze Ulquiorra even slightly.

"Who are you calling 'creature', you…"

"Tsubaki!" Shun'o pulled him out of Ulquiorra's grip and scolded him. "Be nice!"

Orihime watched her powers, slightly amused, as they argued amongst one another. Hinagiku and Baigon were slightly to the left, staying out of the argument between Tsubaki and Shun'o.

When Tsubaki began to pull Shun'o's hair, Lily began trying to pry Tsubaki off of Shun'o without much success.

"Guys! Right now is not the time to be quarreling! We need to help Orihime. Shun'o, come here and help me heal her," Tsubaki released his grip on Shun'o's hair enough so that he could escape and rush over to join Ayame and heal Orihime.

An orange shield appeared over Orihime. Ulquiorra watched, astounded by how quickly he watched her wounds heal. Her bruises had just about disappeared, and her bones had re-grown themselves after five minutes.

iSo this is the power Aizen-sama spoke of, /iUlquiorra watched as Orihime's powers healed her. iIs it healing? Or is it something else…? Possibly more along the ideas of "rejection"…/i

Ulquiorra's hypotheses were interrupted by the disappearance of the orange shield, and the reappearance of Orihime's hairclips in her hair.

Slowly, Orihime sat up. She felt dizzy and blindly reached out for something to steady herself. Orihime blushed when her hands touched Ulquiorra and found herself clinging to her jacket.

iWhat a peculiar woman. /iUlquiorra couldn't help but stare back into Orihime's eyes, mystified by her. He noticed the red shade of her cheeks and reached up to touch them with one of his hands.

"Woman, are you sick? Your face is abnormally warm," the Espada couldn't comprehend the feelings causing Orihime's red cheeks.

iWhy is my heart racing? iOrihime was so caught up in her emotions; she didn't realize she was still holding onto his jacket tightly. Slowly she released her grip and removed her hands from him.

Ulquiorra couldn't help but feel disappointed that she had removed her hands from him. Following Orihime's lead, Ulquiorra slowly dropped his hand from her face. He incredulously admired the fact that this woman continued to intrigue him.

How had he sunken to the level of being fascinated by a mere human? He was a total disgrace to Aizen-sama and his fellow Espada. The stoic Ulquiorra Cifer had felt the beginnings of true emotions.

Orihime's voice startled the brooding Espada, "Thank you, Ulquiorra-san."

iWhy is she thanking me? She healed herself. /i

Orihime smiled sweetly at Ulquiorra.

"I did nothing to deserve your thanks, woman."

She couldn't tell if he was being serious or if he was being modest.

"But you saved me! If you hadn't come when you did…" Orihime shuddered at the thought of what further tortures Nnoitra would have put her through.

"It is my duty to protect you. Have you forgotten that I am your captor, that you are my captive? It is Aizen-sama's will that you are kept safe. It is my obligation to protect you," Orihime realized what he was trying to tell her, and felt a tiny part of her break inside.

iDoes he not care? What about what happened…? He kissed me… I could tell that he wasn't resisting. Yet now he is pushing me away… /i

Ulquiorra felt a slight hatred for himself as he saw Orihime's pained eyes behind her innocent smile.

iYou imbecile! /ihis basic emotions shouted at him.

iI have no emotions! /iUlquiorra's conscious spat back.

Orihime saw Ulquiorra's expression harden into an unreadable mask. At that moment she knew he had cut his ties to her. A single tear welled up in her eye, but she wiped it away the second it began to brim over the edge.

iI should have seen this coming; I was living a fairytale, expecting a happy ending. Ulquiorra is an Espada, and I am a mere human. /i

Ulquiorra was once again "hollow". He felt no pain, no guilt, when he saw the woman wipe a tear away. He was the same unemotional person he had been before he became infatuated with the woman he knew by the name of Orihime Inoue. Out of purse sense of duty and responsibility, not out of any form of emotion whatsoever, Ulquiorra stood up to report to Lord Aizen about Nnoitra Gilga's unacceptable conduct.

"I will return in the morning with your meal. Do not forget that Aizen-sama wants to speak with you tomorrow," how could his voice be so cold? Hadn't the two of them shared something?

The last shred of hope, the last light in her eyes, left Orihime when Ulquiorra Cifer closed the door behind him, not bothering to look back at her.

iAt the same time, in another world…/i

Ichigo was prepared to leave for Hueco Mundo. He headed down to the underground training area of Urahara Kisuke's shop.

"Kurosaki! Leaving for Hueco Mundo alone… are you suicidal?" a familiar voice surprised Ichigo.

"Ishida?" Ichigo wonder how the hell Ishida knew he was heading off to Hueco Mundo.

"We're coming with you."

iWe…? /iKurosaki sensed an all too familiar reiatsu.

"Chado, you're coming, too?" Ichigo's one-man rescue party had turned into a group.

"Sorry, Kurosaki-saaaan!" Urahara hid his face behind his fan.

Ichigo gave Urahara an annoyed look, but was not exactly mad. He was actually kind of glad that he had someone to accompany him to Las Noches.

It did not take long for Urahara to open up a Garganta for the trio to pass through. Without looking back or rethinking their decision to go to Las Noches and rescue Orihime, they stepped into the Garganta and hurried through the dark hole to Hueco Mundo…

iMeanwhile…/i

The last piece of hope was torn from Orihime Inoue's soul. She had been torn from the one she loved, and then the one who had comforted her, though one couldn't speak of "love", tore himself from her. The girl spent her night sitting on the floor, staring out the window, not thinking or feeling, just continuing to breath, though the purpose behind doing so was now also hidden from Orihime's understanding.

Orihime didn't move when Ulquiorra brought her meal. Neither spoke to each other. Instead, the Espada knocked once, entered her room, and without saying a word of acknowledgement to Orihime, set the tray on the table; just as quickly as he had come, he was gone again.

Eventually Orihime fell asleep on the floor. Her dreams were empty and broken. The feeling of hopelessness had followed her even into her dreams. As might be expected, she did not sleep long. Orihime woke up after a couple hours of sleep and awaited the day, not knowing what she would live for.

Ulquiorra was a robot. He lived to fulfill his responsibility to Lord Aizen and to repay the debt he owed the man who created him. Had Aizen-sama not created an Espada out of Ulquiorra, he would probably have become a savage, mindless, killing machine. (Though he turned out to be that anyways…)

Like a machine Ulquiorra made his was to the woman's room to bring her breakfast and to inform her that she was to meet Lord Aizen in his throne room. His thoughts did not wander; his conscious did not bother him. He was the Cuatro Espada.

Orihime did not notice three familiar reiatsu appear. Even though they were extremely far away and only trained persons could have sensed them, Orihime Inoue normally had no problems when it came to detecting reiatsu; especially Kurosaki Ichigo's reiatsu. But her body and mind were so numb that she could not sense even the approaching reiatsu of her captor until it was right outside her door.

She would have ignored Ulquiorra Cifer had he not spoken to her.

"Aizen-sama wishes to speak with you."

How long ago had it been sense she'd heard his voice? Even if it felt like years, she knew it had only been mere hours.

"Hai," Orihime managed to choke out, almost silently. She did not make a move to get up off the floor and leave her room.

"Remove yourself from the floor and follow me. I will not hesitate to drag you," Orihime Inoue slowly got off of the floor and made her way to the Espada. She never raised her eyes off of the floor to look at him or his stoic composure.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

Feathers

i"Remove yourself from the floor and follow me. I will not hesitate to drag you," Orihime Inoue slowly got off of the floor and made her way to the Espada. She never raised her eyes off of the floor to look at him or his stoic composure.

/i

Slowly Orihime dragged along behind Ulquiorra. His footsteps rang crisp and clear while hers were muffled by her depressed shuffling. Her dejected eyes never left the floor in front of her. She never bothered to wonder what in the world Aizen wanted to talk to her about.

There was no hint of emotion on her face or in her eyes. The only thing giving her away was her slumped, shuffling walk and dragging footsteps. After what seemed like hours, the Espada abruptly stopped, waited for Orihime to catch up (as she had fallen behind because of her page) without turning around, and continued when he felt she was close enough.

Before long, they arrived in front of Aizen's throne room. Ulquiorra knocked and entered; Orihime followed.

"Ah, my dear Orihime! I do hope you have been faring well here in Las Noches," Aizen Sosuke smiled saccharinely. Orihime, who had lifted her eyes to look him in the eyes, nearly gagged on the mendaciousness that was rolling off of him in waves. Even she, naïve as she was, did not have to be told to know that this man told nothing but lies.

iDo not trust him,/i she warned herself. Orihime knew that if she began to believe him, she would be misled and used. She did not glance at Ulquiorra as he turned to leave the room without further notice.

"Please, take a seat," Aizen Sosuke motioned nonchalantly at the huge white table in front of him, line with chairs on each side. Orihime noticed for the first time that this must be the room where the Espada held meetings with him.

So she would not seem discourteous, Orihime took a seat two chairs down from where Aizen sat. Aizen pretended not to notice the distance between them and began to speak.

"I have a very important task for you, Orihime…"

iAt the same time…/i

"WHAT THE HELL IS THIS?" Ichigo screamed as he clung to the back of a giant worm, heading towards Las Noches.

"Get off of me!" Ichigo yelled. Pesche was stepping on Ichigo's head.

"You hurt Bawabawa's feelings!" Pesche continued stomping on the substitute Shinigami's head.

"Um… I don't think you should do that," Chado said.

Ishida Uryuu pretended to ignore the scene happening in front of him. Instead he focused on the castle in the distance.

"That must be Las Noches," at Ishida's statement, Pesche hopped off of Ichigo and climbed on top of Bawabawa's head to get a better look.

"Wahhh!" Dondochakka began cry when Ichigo grabbed him and began yelling at him.

"Teach your friend some manners! You don't stomp on someone's head for no reason at all!"

"B-b-but you called Bawabawa a 'thing'," Dondochakka's tears and cries increased. Ichigo let go of him and clenched his fists, resisting the urge to punch the two idiots he was now forced to deal with.

iHow the hell did I get stuck with these two?/i Ichigo fumed. He really regretted asking them for help. His anger quickly subsided when he saw the little girl who was friends with the two idiots looking out across the sand with an unreadable expression. Ichigo wasn't the only one who noticed.

"Nel-chan! What is it?" Pesche bounded over to her side, crouching down until he was right in her face.

"Huh?" Neliel snapped out of it when Pesche's nose was pressing against hers. "It's nothing!"

A genuine smile spread across Nel's lips.

iShe seems rather odd, /iIshida pondered where the three of them came from. They were obviously not normal hollows, but they definitely couldn't be Espada. The partially removed mask on Neliel proved that she was an arrancar, but what about her two friends?

iWell, no use pondering over that, I guess, /iIshida shook his head and turned his attention to the castle. It seemed to be just as far away as it had been five minutes ago. Ishida's quick mind jumped to a conclusion.

"No way…"

"Hmm?" Chado and Kurosaki turned their heads to look at the Quincy.

"That castle must be enormous. It seems as if we aren't drawing closer at all," Ichigo frowned, realizing Ishida was right.

Their pondering thoughts were suddenly interrupted.

"Yo," a familiar red-headed Shinigami appeared as if out of no where; at his side was another black-haired Shinigami.

"Rukia! Renji!" Ichigo exclaimed. "What the hell are you doing here? How did you find us? Didn't old man Yamamoto forbid you to help me save Orihime?"

Renji rolled his eyes, "We couldn't let you go off an kill yourself on this suicide mission."

"Orihime is our friend just as much as she is yours, Ichigo," Rukia simply replied. Ichigo shook his head. No matter how many times things like this happened, it never ceased to amaze him that his friends were ready and willing to help him, no matter how desperate the situation may seem.

iAnd in the walls of Las Noches…/i

Orihime's mind was functioning a mile a minute. What exactly had just happened back there? Why had Aizen Sosuke trusted her to that extent? Or ihad/i he really trusted her? Was there some secret motive behind his actions?

Unlike the sluggish, depressed pace Orihime had set on her way to Aizen's throne room, her pace now was crisp and clear, matching Ulquiorra's. Ulquiorra was taking Orihime back to her room after her meeting with Aizen, though it seemed as if he was ignoring her and pretending he were walking through Las Noches alone.

It seemed like mere seconds before they arrived in Orihime's chambers.

"I will return shortly with your meal," This was the only action, verbal or physical, that Ulquiorra had shown to acknowledge her existence. Orihime barely nodded in acknowledgment, unknowingly mirroring his stoic face and behavior; without another word, Ulquiorra turned and left, leaving Orihime to her thoughts.

Shortly afterwards, just like he had said, Ulquiorra returned with a tray of food for her. He said nothing as he entered her chambers, set the food down, and left again. Orihime was not hungry and ignored the food. She had crossed the point of caring what her captors thought of her. It did not matter to her anymore if they thought of her as ungrateful. Plus, she was so caught up in her thoughts and speculations, she continued to fail to know the familiar forms or reiatsu drawing steadily nearer…

iMeanwhile, on the back of a giant worm…/i

The rather large group now sat in a circle, pondering what their next move should be when they reached Las Noches.

Ichigo's mind wandered a lot, and he often found himself thinking about how his trio consisting of him, Chado, and Uryuu, had suddenly become a "free-for-all". His "one-man-suicide-rescue-mission" was now a "four-men-one-woman-three-hollow-and-a-giant-worm-suicide-rescue-mission."

"I think we should split up and look for Inoue," Rukia suggested.

"But what if someone gets seriously injured in a fight?" Ichigo worried.

Renji punched him and rolled his eyes, "Always so pessimistic. Ichigo! You think we can't handle something as simple as finding Orihime-san?"

Ichigo glared at Renji for punching him and then grimaced at the sky, "It's not that… It's just that these aren't the Arrancar we've been fighting. We're dealing with Espada…"

Pesche and Dondochakka nodded furiously at Ichigo's statement. Everyone else knew that Ichigo was right, but no one was able to admit that they weren't sure that they would survive a one-on-one fight with one of Aizen Sosuke's Espada.

Uryuu changed the subject for a moment, "I think we should alert Inoue that we're here to rescue her."

"But how? If we send out bursts of reiatsu, the enemy will also know that we're coming," Rukia interjected.

"How much you wanna bet they already know we're coming?" Renji argued. Everyone else looked at each other urgently, knowing Renji was probably right.

"I still don't think it's a good idea," Rukia stated, in a slightly lower tone.

"I agree with Rukia," Ichigo's statement surprised Renji and Uryuu.

"What?" They chimed.

"Inoue will know we've come to rescue her soon enough. Either one of the Espada will tell her, or she will sense our reiatsu when we are fighting," Kurosaki's well-thought out statement made sense to everyone.

"Kurosaki's right," Uryuu finally said. Everyone nodded in unanimous agreement. Their minds quickly went back to their tactics of how to infiltrate Las Noches. None of them expected how quickly the next twenty-four hours would go by, leaving them in a completely different situation than the one they were in right now.

iIn a lonely white room within the walls of Las Noches, several hours later…/i

iKurosaki-kun, Ishida-kun, Chado-kun, Renji-san, Rukia-chan… What are you doing here?/i Orihime wondered why on earth they had come to save her. Though she was naïve, she knew that her friends knew they were on a suicide mission.

She had kept herself busy following her friends' various reiatsus as they fought countless battles. Orihime cried as she felt Chado-san's reiatsu drop. Soon thereafter Rukia-chan's reiatsu disappeared as well. What was happening? Surely they hadn't lost… Or had they?

The sudden opening of her door made her jump and turn around to see who had entered her room. She was surprised to see Ulquiorra standing there.

"I see you have noticed your friends' reiatsus. There is no need for you to become excited by such a trivial fact. I am positive it has not escaped your attention that two of your companion's reiatsu have dropped dangerously low, if not completely disappeared. The fate your friend's chose cannot be hindered or altered. No matter what you do, they will die," Ulquiorra spoke in such a monotonous tone as he slowly made his way across her room until he was standing only a couple of feet away from her. Orihime's eyes filled with more tears; this time they were tears of hatred.

iWhat is this man's problem? No… he is not a man. He is a monster, a hollow./i

Before Orihime knew what she was doing, her hand pulled back and her palm came crashing down hard on Ulquiorra's cheek. The unexpected force behind Orihime's hand jerked Ulquiorra's head to the side; his eyes widened slightly with surprise. Instead of hitting her back, Ulquiorra turned on his heels and quickly left Orihime's chambers.

Orihime stared in shock at her hand. Had she really just slapped him? She internally hit herself, regretting her instinctual actions right away. Being the innocent human she was, she knew she had to apologize the next time she had the chance. For unknown reasons, a new onslaught of tears reached her eyes. Before she knew why, she crumpled into a heap on the floor and wept.

iWhy have they come to save me? I am a burden to them… and I am the reason they will all die! /iOrihime's thoughts only increased her tears.

For what seemed like hours, she cried and cried and cried. Finally, her tears ran dry and she dozed into a fitful, exhausted sleep.

Orihime Inoue woke up with a start. What was this sudden reiatsu? This familiar reiatsu…

iNo way.../i Orihime's eyes widened. iWhy would /itheyi be here? In Hueco Mundo?/i

They were there… helping to free her? Shinigami from Soul Society? But why? The all too familiar reiatsus of Kuchiki Byakuya, Zaraki Kenpachi, Kurotsuchi Mayuri, Unohana Retsu, of Isane Kotetsu steadily grew nearer to Las Noches, frightening and exciting Orihime more and more.

iAm I really going to be rescued? Am I going to be free?/i Orihime's expression continuously switched between an excited and hopeful smile and a worried frown. What price would her friends, and now Soul Society, to free her?

Hours passed. To Orihime, they seemed like years. The continuous fighting kept her on edge constantly. She couldn't stop pacing back and forth in front of the lone window in her room, staring at the backwards moon.

Her eyes suddenly widen as she felt another familiar reiatsu increased tremendously.

"Ulquiorra-san… Kurosaki-kun…" she felt a sob building in her throat, but she bit it back. Ichigo was now battling Ulquiorra… Did he even have a chance?

All too quickly her unspoken question was answered.

"No…" Orihime sank to her knees. "Kurosaki-kun… Kurosaki-kun!"

The orange-haired girl couldn't hold her tears and sobs back any longer. Her tears streamed down her face and fell off her cheeks to the carpeted floor.

Less than a minute later, Orihime's despair was interrupted when the door to her chambers was suddenly flung open with force.

"There she is," a female arrancar hissed, "pouting over her dying friends."

The arrancar's voice was mocking and pierced Orihime like a knife, only increasing the tears running down her face.

Suddenly she sinidoed over to where Orihime was crumpled on the floor and kicked her, sending the girl flying onto her back. A gasp escaped Orihime's throat when her head forcefully hit the wall behind her. Barely a split second later, her attacker kicked her again.

Orihime coughed up blood onto the white carpet.

"I think you should stop… Aizen-sama will be furious as it is," Orihime hadn't noticed the other female arrancar. A brief sigh of relief left Orihime's lips before she realized that her attacker wasn't going to let up. Feeling a sting on her cheek, her head snapped to the side as she was slapped.

"What the hell do you bitches are doing? Aizen specifically said that you should leave her alone. Just because that shit Ulquiorra is out fighting doesn't mean you can kill her while he's gone," Grimmjow was even more angry than usual.

He punched the arrancar silently standing in the background hard enough to send her flying into the wall, leaving a dent. Immediately going to Orihime's attacker, he punched her, causing her to sprawl on the floor several feet from him. Without warning, he released a Cero and killed her.

"No!" Orihime screamed. Even the life of her attacker was important to her. She quickly rushed over to the arrancar's corpse and called out, "Soten Kisshun!"

An orange transparent shield appeared above the corpse. Shortly thereafter, the dead arrancar began to reawaken. Still furious and filled with hatred, she slapped Orihime again, this time with a mixture of disgust that she had been brought back to life by the girl.

Before Grimmjow could kill her again, the arrancar ran, closely followed by her fellow female arrancar.

"Get up," Grimmjow commanded Orihime. Not wanting to further infuriate him, she immediately complied.

"There is something I need your help with," without warning, Orihime was slung over the Sexta Espada's shoulder. A split second later they were sinidoing through Las Noches. Orihime's eyes widen as she realized that they were heading towards the spot where Kurosaki-kun's reiatsu had disappeared at.

Several seconds later, Orihime found herself staring into the lifeless eyes of the boy she held so dear. For what seemed like the hundredth time that day, Orihime crumpled into the floor, crying, this time holding Ichigo's head in her lap.

"Bring him back."

"Huh?-"

"You heard me. Bring him back," Orihime stared in shock at Grimmjow Jeagerjaques.

"Don't make me say it again," Grimmjow growled.

"Hai!" Orihime quickly called out her powers, hoping and praying they would be strong enough to bring her beloved Kurosaki-kun back to life. Orihime felt a sudden pang of guilt; but as quickly as it had come, it was gone again.

iUlquiorra's POV/i

iWhat is that woman doing with the Sexta Espada?/i Ulquiorra headed back to the area where he had defeated Kurosaki Ichigo only minutes before.

iWorthless trash, /ihe thought as he remembered how easily he had killed the substitute Shinigami.

iRegular (Orihime's) POV/i

Sweat formed on her forehead as Orihime concentrated on removing the saturation of reiatsu from the hole in Kurosaki-kun's chest.

iUlquiorra's reiatsu,/i Orihime thought, sadly. Why did they have to fight? What was the point in killing each other?

Orihime sighed. The world was cruel, she knew that, yet she still dreamed that maybe things could be resolved peacefully.

She watched as the thick green and black reiatsu left the hole in Kurosaki-kun's chest, dissolving into thin air. After all the foreign reiatsu was gone, she concentrated on closing up the gaping hole in his chest and returning his lifeless corpse to life. It seemed like an eternity later that Ichigo began to stir.

"Orihime," he smiled confusedly up at her.

"Kurosaki-kun," she smiled back, joyous. "Don't move yet, I haven't finished closing your wounds from your battle with Ulqu-"

"Grimmjow Jeagerjaques, explain to me why you have kidnapped the onna, brought her here, and let her heal Kurosaki Ichigo."

Orihime gasped as she heard the all too familiar voice of her captor.

"Ulquiorra-san," she whispered inaudibly.

"Onna, get away from Kurosaki Ichigo."

Not wanting to argue with the obviously perturbed green-eyed Espada, Orihime glanced apologetically at Kurosaki-kun before standing up and walking closer to Ulquiorra.

"Wait just a minute," Ichigo suddenly spoke, finding the strength to stand up and grab Zangetsu off of the floor.

"Ichi!" An unfamiliar voice chimed. A small green-haired arrancar child appeared from the rubble that Ichigo and Ulquiorra's fight had created.

Ulquiorra stared at the child with shock (which was only obvious to Orihime).

"Let's finish this, once and for all," Grimmjow growled, ignoring the child standing there.

Orihime saw an odd gleam in Kurosaki-kun's eyes as he attacked Grimmjow.

"Kurosaki-kun!" she called out in concern. Without warning, she found herself once again flung over the shoulder of someone (this time it was Kurosaki-kun's shoulder, though). Suddenly you were set on the flat hard ground of a huge pillar Kurosaki-kun. A split second later, the green-haired child, who had been on Ichigo's other shoulder, was sitting next to you.

"I'll make you pay, Jeagerjaques," were Ichigo's only words before he attacked the Sexta Espada, who had just appeared in the sand below the pillar.

"Inoue," he called out, "Use your Shun Shun Rikka to protect Nel and yourself."

"Hai," she whispered. "Santen Kesshun."

An orange shield appeared before her, protecting herself and the child (whom she figured out was named Nel) from the flying reiatsu, sand, and debris. She tried to follow the fight between the two men, but couldn't keep up. Orihime sighed in frustration.

The two men stopped for a second as Ichigo backed up a little ways, before attacking. This time her had raised his hand to his face before attacking.

What was the change in his reiatsu? Was this what he had trained for when he was gone? But this reiatsu was so much more like…

Orihime's eyes widen at the realization.

iSo much more like Ulquiorra-san's./i she finished in her mind. iBut not just Ulquiorra-san's… it's more like Grimmjow's too.i

Puzzled by this fact, she tried to think of an explanation of why his reiatsu would change like this. She soon found her answer when Kurosaki-kun appeared in front of her.

Her eyes widened at the white and red hollow mask on his face. His eyes were those of a hollow, and reminded her of that night when Sora tried to eat her soul…

"Kurosaki-kun?" she whispered. Why was he like this?

"Inoue…" he apparently realized that his hollow powers were scaring her. "I will protect you."

Even through the hollow-eyes, Orihime saw the sincerity and determination with which Kurosaki-kun's voice rang. She forced a smile and nodded.

A split second later, Kurosaki was once again fighting.

"Why are you scared of Ichi's hollow mask? He's still Ichigo!" Nel nagged you. "You hurt Ichi's feelings. Now he's loosing! See!"

At that moment, Kurosaki-kun took an especially brutal blow.

"No… Don't die, Kurosaki-kun," Orihime whispered.

"Don't die… Don't die… iKurosaki-kun, don't die! Don't die!i" She shouted. Ichigo turned to look and saw Orihime standing there, clutching her hands to hear chest.

"You don't have to win. You don't have to fight for me anymore. Please don't die, Kurosaki-kun," Orihime begged. She didn't want him to die fighting for her.

Once again, he appeared before her.

"Thanks, Inoue," he smiled sincerely. She sighed with relief; but her relief was short lived. A second later, Ichigo was once again fighting Grimmjow.

Orihime sank to her knees, iwhy won't he listen to me?/i

A lone tear escaped her eyes. Hope filled her eyes as Kurosaki-kun had the upper hand in the fight. Grimmjow released his Zanpakutou, but still Ichigo was winning. It wasn't long before Grimmjow was dead and Ichigo was panting, blood dripping from his wounds.

To her and Ichigo's disgrace, another Espada appeared. It was the same one that had attacked her in her chambers, Nnoitra Gilga…

Ichigo was obviously exhausted and in no shape to fight another Espada.

"No!" she shrieked as the Espada was going to crush Kurosaki-kun.

"Ichi!" Nel screamed and Sonidoed to try and save him.

Orihime's eyes widened. Zaraki Kenpachi, Captain of the 11th Squad, had appeared and blocked the blow that would have killed both Ichigo and Nel.

iHe saved Kurosaki-kun… Kurosaki-kun won't die!/i

She rushed to Kurosaki-kun's side and began healing him.

iApproximately half an hour later/i

Why was it that Orihime always seemed to watch the battles? She thought of all that had happened so quickly after the battle between Kurosaki-kun and Grimmjow Jeagerjaques.

She had healed Kurosaki, expecting to be reunited with all her friends. Little did she know that Ulquiorra would appear, dragging Kurosaki-kun into a heated battle, luring him out onto the roof of Las Noches. Ishida had transported both him and Orihime to the roof of Las Noches as well.

Now the two of them were watching the two men fight from a reasonable distance, as their reiatsus were too overwhelming to be able to handle in a close proximity.

Orihime was doomed to watch her beloved Kurosaki-kun battle Ulquiorra, whom she came to realize she also cared for.

She found her mind hoping that neither of them would die.

iDon't die, Ulquiorra-san. Don't die, Kurosaki-kun./i Orihime stood there watching them fight, clutching her hands to her chest.

Suddenly, Ulquiorra (who had already released his Zanpakutou) revealed that he had a hidden power not even Aizen knew about.

"No way," Orihime heard Ishida-kun whisper as Ulquiorra transformed into a being with black bat wings, claws, black fur reaching from his feet to his stomach and on his arms, and two horns.

iI thought arrancar only had one release form! What is happening?/i

Suddenly, in a quickly flash of speed, Ulquiorra killed Kurosaki-kun, piercing him once again in his chest, creating a hole like the one before.

"Kurosaki-kun!" Orihime shrieked. For the second time that day, she rushed to his side, ignoring the dense, depressing reiatsu engulfing her. This time though, her Shun Shun Rikka were of now use. She was too worn out and too oppressed by the incredibly reiatsu coming from Ulquiorra to summon her powers.

"Kurosaki-kun! Kurosaki-kun! Kurosaki-kun!" She cried. "Kurosaki-kun! Kurosa-"

A sudden burst of ominous reiatsu was released from Ichigo. Orihime stared in shock and horror as a now completely hollowfied Kurosaki-kun stood up to attack Ulquiorra. Her mouth was hanging open in shock as she saw the strength with which he attacked Ulquiorra.

"No… Ulquiorra-san," she whispered as Kurosaki-kun tore off one of Ulquiorra's arms and legs. As hollow-Ichigo went to slice open the Espada's throat, Ishida stepped in.

"Stop it. If you do it you will no longer be human."

Without warning, Ichigo turned on Ishida, and pierced him with Zangetsu.

"No!" Orihime gasped.

With a sudden burst of strength, Ulquiorra managed to cut Ichigo's hollow mask, causing his entire hollow-self to fall to the ground. The hard hollow skin crumbled away to reveal a normal Kurosaki-kun. With a sudden burst of light, the hole in his chest closed with the help of high-speed regeneration.

Ulquiorra stared, weakened and shocked. How could a human be this powerful?

Ichigo slowly stood up and stared around. His eyes traveled over a horrified Orihime to an injured, but relieved that Ichigo was back to normal, Ishida, and a nearly dead Ulquiorra.

"Did, did I do this?" He asked, terrified of the answer he knew was coming. No one replied, confirming his thoughts.

Ulquiorra grabbed the hilt of Zangetsu, who was still stuck in Ishida's stomach, pulled him out and tossed the sword towards Kurosaki-kun.

"Let's finish this," was his simple statement.

"Did I do that to you?" Kurosaki-kun asked.

"It does not matter."

"Yes it does! Cut off my arm and leg, too! Then we'll be even!"

Ishida's protests were cut off but Kurosaki's desperate shouts.

"Please! Then we'll be even!"

"If that is what you want," Ulquiorra began approaching a horrified Ichigo.

Orihime's eyes widened further as she saw one of Ulquiorra's wings begin to crumble into the air.

"No," she whispered. Why was this happening? Why did someone always have to die?

iUlquiorra-san! Don't die!/i Orihime's mind shouted as she forced her body up off the ground to run towards the dying Espada.

"Onna…" Ulquiorra's voice contained an unknown emotion, "Are you afraid?"

"I'm not afraid," Orihime replied, tears beginning to stream down her cheeks, her voice slightly cracking.

iNo, don't die! Don't die! Not now! Not yet!/i Orihime's mind desperately cried.

"I'm not afraid," she repeated. Ulquiorra reached an arm out, trying to grab Orihime's hand before he disappeared from existence. When she returned the gesture, reaching her hand out to grab his, he felt something inside of him fall into place. He finally realized just what he had been struggling to comprehend since he met the onna. He cared for her.

Ulquiorra finally realized exactly what the onna had meant with a "heart" all those times she had talked to him about it, trying to convince him that is existed. Yet he had always denied the existence of the "heart". What he could not see, he didn't no believe in. All that changed when he realized that he was holding the onna's heart in the palm of his hand during his last seconds of life.

Unbeknownst to the two men watching, the usually stoic eyes of the Cuatro Espada contained immeasurable amounts of apologies, pain, and fear; apologies for his ignorance, the pain of death… the fear of loosing his newly found heart.

Just as his hand reached hers, it turned to dust.

iGoodbye, onna,/i the Espada though as the rest of his existence turned to dust.

"Ulquiorra-san," Orihime choked.

He was gone…


	6. Chapter 6

bChapter 6

Flowers For A Ghost

u*WARNING:/u SLIGHT SPOILER AHEAD; YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED.*/b

i Unbeknownst to the two men watching, the usually stoic eyes of the Cuatro Espada contained immeasurable amounts of apologies, pain, and fear; apologies for his ignorance, the pain of death… the fear of loosing his newly found heart.

Just as his hand reached hers, it turned to dust.

Goodbye, onna, the Espada though as the rest of his existence turned to dust.

"Ulquiorra-san," Orihime choked.

He was gone…/i

"Ulquiorra-san!" Orihime screamed repeatedly. It seemed that despair was the only emotion that she would ever feel again. In that last moment she had been able to read his thoughts.

iThe eyes are a window to the soul./i She had seen all of Ulquiorra's confusion, all his pain.

It felt as if her heart was going to break in to as she started at the spot where, just seconds ago, Ulquiorra Cifer, the Cuatro Espada, had stood.

iHe's gone. He's dead. He's not coming back,/i thoughts circled in Orihime Inoue's head like crashing airplanes, leaving destruction and panic in their wake.

"Inoue?" Kurosaki Ichigo was beginning to worry about her.

She had sunken to her knees and began to shake violently as all of her thoughts became realizations that she couldn't deal with. Not now. Not ever. Orihime sobbed and sobbed and sobbed, even when her beloved Kurosaki-kun kneeled beside her and wrapped his arms around her, trying to stifle her pained crying.

After what seemed like hours, Orihime's breathing returned to normal, though tears still streamed down her face in torrents. Her eyes glazed over as she stared off into another dimension, another world entirely, that she had known only days ago.

i"My friends have come to rescue me… My heart is already with them," Orihime said with a content smile on her face.

That smile was replaced with an expression of fear, as the Cuatro Espada taunted her, "You humans are foolish. What is this heart? Where is it? Could I see it if I tore open your chest? If I cracked open your skull?"

Orihime shook her head and placed her hands over her chest, a placid look spreading across her face once more.

"The heart exists within a person's soul. You cannot see it if you tear open my chest, and you cannot see it if you crack open my skull."

"If I cannot see it, it does not exist," Ulquiorra stated simply.

A sad smile found its way onto Orihime's lips. She felt sad that this lonely Espada could not grasp the concept of a heart, that he could not realize all the goodness and graciousness that came with a heart./i

"He finally found it… In the end he found it," Orihime whispered.

"Huh?" Kurosaki-kun looked at her as if she had gone insane.

Orihime shook her head with the same sad smile on her face as when she had tried convincing Ulquiorra that hearts exist within a person's soul.

Ichigo sighed, slightly frustrated.

"Orihime?" She snapped out of another daze when he called her name. "I think Ishida needs your help."

"Oh!" Orihime was ashamed she had forgotten about her friend. "I'm sorry Ishida-kun."

"It's alright, Inoue-san," Ishida smiled weakly.

Orihime rushed over to his side and called out, "Santen Kesshun, I reject!"

To get her mind off of what had happened, she concentrated on healing Uryuu.

"I'm going back to Karakura Town," Ichigo stated. "I have to kill Aizen."

Orihime grimaced at the heartless way Ichigo spoke. Suddenly she remembered the menacing look of his hollow form, the strange gleam that had been ever present in his fight with Grimmjow.

"Hai," Orihime said. Without hesitating, Ichigo left to go find one of the captains from Soul Society to help him open a Garganta to get back to the World of the Living.

Without realizing it, Orihime began to sing to herself as she healed Ishida-kun.

iYou disappear with all your good intentions,

And all I am is all I cannot mention,

Like who will bring me flowers when it's over,

And who will give me comfort when it's cold./i

"Inoue-san?" Ishida-kun interrupted her. The song Orihime had started to sing made him realize exactly how much he didn't understand the magnitude of pain that she felt.

"Are you alright?" He was definitely worried about her. He saw the desolate look on her face, and the empty smile on her usually lively face.

"Yeah!" Orihime faked enthusiasm. Ishida wasn't impressed but decided not to press the issue, since he saw how she reacted to her captor's death. He couldn't understand why Orihime would mourn his death, but also knew he didn't understand the circumstances with which Orihime had been faced with during the time she had been held captive in Las Noches.

Still, Ishida couldn't shake off the eerie tone of the song. Analyzing the lyrics again, he finally realized the way Orihime had directed the song. He knew that Orihime had had feelings for Kurosaki, but he was now sure that she had gotten over those feelings in the time she had been locked up in Las Noches.

"There, all done," Orihime faked a smile.

"Thanks, Inoue-san," Ishida stood up and helped Orihime up. "I think we should get back to the others. They might need our help with things."

Orihime nodded and helped Ishida-kun stand before turning to walk towards the whole in the ceiling of Las Noches that the now deceased Cuatro Espada had created less than an hour ago.

She sighed, iWhy does time seem to fly? I wish I could have had some more time with Ulquiorra. Maybe I could have helped him understand the heart better…/i

Ishida Uryuu saw the wistful look on his friend's face, but did not know how he could possibly comfort her. He didn't have an inkling of a clue of how to begin to understand what she was feeling.

He remembered how he had felt when he had lost his grandfather… But he knew that that was not how Orihime felt. Ishida remembered the hatred he had held for Shinigami, the hatred that he still was not completely rid of. Orihime was too gentle a soul to hate anybody. She didn't even hate her enemies, who had captured her and locked her up. Ishida envied the girl's gentleness and compassion.

When the duo had finally reached the group that had come to Hueco Mundo from Soul Society and the World of the Living, Ishida was glad to see that Orihime's face lit up at the sight of a healthy Rukia.

iShe's safe! Kuchiki-chan's alive,/i Orihime thought, thankful that her precious friend had been spared and healed. iEven Sado-kun is being healed… I thought both him and Rukia had died./i

Eventually a gentle numbness took over the place in her chest that contained her broken heart. Orihime was glad that the horrible feeling of pure despair was gone… that she could being to try to forget her beloved Espada.

iUlquiorra-san…/i Orihime thought, despair returning for a brief moment before her thoughts were interrupted by a worried Rukia.

"Orihime…?"

"Hmm?" Orihime smiled her usual dazzling smile. iStop being ungrateful! You should be happy that your friends are alive!/i

She chided herself mentally for worrying everyone. Secretly she made a vow to never worry her friends again. She formed her resolve to always smile around them and be happy as much as possible.

iThere's no point in mourning for what's past, right?/i

But as she tried to be happy, an unknown guilt kicked in, a guilt that had no particular reason other than that Orihime felt obligated to mourning for her lost captor…

iStop it!/i Orihime forced her train of thought to a more positive track.

"Inoue-san?" Orihime looked up to see Isane-fukutaichou walking up to her. "Would you do me a favor and help heal Sado-san? You methods are much faster than mine."

"Of course!" Orihime chimed. Isane Kotetsu was continuously amazed by the endurance and determination that the young orange-haired woman relentlessly showed when it came to helping others, especially healing her comrades.

iAnd even her enemies,/i the fukutaichou of the 4th Squad thought. iWhat a gentle spirit… She would make a great addition to our Squad. Maybe she will become a Shinigami after she comes to live in Soul Society…?/i

Orihime hurried over to Sado-kun's side as soon as Isane-fukutaichou asked for her help.

"Hello, Sado-kun!" She greeted her friend, cheerily.

"Inoue-san," a half-conscious Sado san greeted in return.

"Santen Kesshun, I reject!" Orihime called out her powers. At once, an orange shield formed above her weak friend, healing him. Since Isane-fukutaichou had already begun healing Sado Yasutora, Orihime's work was very easy. She had completely healed him within 15 minutes.

"Thank you, Inoue-san," Sado-kun stated as he stood up, stretching to get the kinks out of his muscles from lying on the ground for so long.

"You're welcome, Sado-kun!" Orihime chimed with a big smile on her face.

It wasn't long before Orihime heard that Unohana-taichou had left with Kurosaki-kun to go back to the World of a Living via a Garganta that Kurotsuchi-taichou had opened. She was told that she would be returning to Karakura town (which was still located in Soul Society at this point) as soon as another Garganta could be opened.

During the next few hours Orihime Inoue found herself thinking of all sorts of things. What was Kurosaki-kun doing at the moment? Was he fighting Aizen Sosuke? Was he okay? Whenever she found herself panicking over something, she somehow calmed herself down with the help of Kuchiki-chan and Sado-kun.

Where was Ulquiorra? Did he go to Soul Society like a normal hollow? Or did he end up somewhere else? Or did he cease to exist entirely…?

These were the thoughts that began to slowly drag Orihime down into a hole of depression, though she did not know it at the time…

iWhat is this place? It is dark… yet bright at the same time? Is this the area between dimensions?

What is this crackling sound? It sounds as if I am within a thunderbolt. Where will I end up? Am I going to Hell, or will I go to Soul Society? Or… will I disappear completely?/i

iWhat is this?/i Orihime's mind went into overload. The atmosphere of Hueco Mundo changed suddenly, becoming almost suffocating. Everyone, even the taichous from Soul Society, stopped what they were doing, well aware of the unusual atmospheric conditions…

"What a strange phenomenon!" a very interested Kurotsuchi-taichou stated. "I have never hear of or seen something like this before!"

Maybe Orihime was just imagining things, but it felt as if… as if the unusual atmosphere were coming from the hole in the roof of Las Noches.

iPerhaps it is a storm?/i Orihime thought.

Several minutes later the "storm" began to let up and then disappeared completely. Everything was deathly silent for a second before a thunder-like boom erupted from above.

"Is… is the dimension being… torn open?" Isane-fukutaichou questioned, quite terrified by the possibility she stated.

"It seems so," Kurotsuchi Mayuri stated.

The boom echoed and faded quickly leaving very confused Shinigami and humans in its wake.

Suddenly, Kuchiki Byakuya's reiatsu spiked and rose.

iCome to think of it, /iOrihime thought to herself, "I haven't seen him at all since I came down from the room…/i

"Kuchiki-taichou?" Abarai Renji wondered what could make his captain raise his reiatsu. There wouldn't be a reason, unless…

"Another Espada," Zaraki-taichou grinned, his eyes turning animalistic the minute he felt another great, unknown, reiatsu rise.

Without warning, he took off to find the Espada.

"They'll take care of it," Isane-fukutaichou stated, confident in the ability of the two captains.

Everyone nodded in agreement.

Orihime sighed, imore fighting and killing…/i

It seemed like days until the reiatsus of Kuchiki-taichou, Zaraki-taichou, and the unknown Espada stopped fluctuating. Less then a minute later, the two captains appeared before the group of Shinigami and humans. Everyone gave them questioning, interested stares, expecting details.

"Shit, that was fun!" was the only vulgar explanation, along with a wide grin, that any of them received from Zaraki Kenpachi.

"The Espada we fought was the 0 Espada, the strongest Espada created," Kuchiki Byakuya finally stated, in his usual bored tone of voice.

Several minutes later, Kurotsuchi had opened another Garganta, allowing everyone to go back to Soul Society.

iWhat is this darkness? I cannot open my eyes, I cannot move. The loud noise from earlier has subsided, leaving absolute silence in its wake.../i

"Is that… Ichigo?" Keigo exclaimed. Everyone stared as an orange-haired Shinigami appeared in front of Aizen Sosuke, challenging him to a battle.

iKurosaki-kun…/i Orihime thought. She hoped and prayed that he would survive the coming fight and return to his friends, victorious.

iIf he looses…/i Orihime didn't want to think what the outcome of his loss would be. Surely she would go insane if she lost him, also.

iUlquiorra-san…/i tears welled up in her eyes. It seemed like only a minute ago that she had been reaching out to grab his hand…

Everyone had watched the fight between Aizen and Ichigo, anxious to see the outcome and know their fates. Their fates had all been hanging by a thread; a thread that had been precariously held by Kurosaki Ichigo. Or so they thought. None of them had fathomed that Kurosaki-kun could have gained the power that he had…

Now everything was over. Everyone seemed to be moving in slow motion. Urahara Kisuke was carrying Kurosaki, who had fallen into a deep state of unconsciousness due to the sudden loss of reiatsu that had accompanied his final attack.

iKurosaki-san gave up his Shinigami powers to save us…/i

Orihime was glad that everyone, the world, had been saved, but was also mourning the recent death of her Espada, and now also the loss of her friend's Shinigami-powers.

What a day it had been…

Orihime rushed to Kurosaki-san's side and called out her Shun Shun Rikka immediately to begin healing the exhausted, unconscious ex-Shinigami.

Even after she had finished healing him, he did not wake. Kuchiki-chan explained that it was due to the sudden loss of his Shinigami powers; she also explained that it was unsure how long it would take for Ichigo to wake up…

Ichigo's family and friends were all crowded beside Ichigo's bed until late into the night, expecting him to wake up.

iI can finally open my eyes… Is that the Hueco Mundo sky I see? Could it possibly be that…

My heart… I still have my heart. Onna's heart…

Onna! Where have you gone? I must find you! I must apologize for my stupidity and insolence.

Where are you, onna?/i

It was well past two in the morning when Orihime Inoue finally made her way back to her apartment, exhausted from everything that had happened.

She reflected on everything that had happened: Ichigo dying, her reviving him, the fight with Grimmjow, her fear of Kurosaki-san's hollow mask, the fight with Ulquiorra, Ichigo dying again, hollow-Ichigo fighting (and killing) Ulquiorra-san…

Orihime felt a lump forming in her throat and tears building up in her eyes as she remembered the look in the Cuatro Espada's eyes the moment before he disappeared, crumbled into ash.

It was then that Orihime finally reached her apartment. She didn't even bother to turn on any lights as she shut the door and headed to bed. Falling onto her soft mattress, still wearing her torn and tattered Hueco Mundo outfit, she immediately fell asleep.

Orihime had been too tired when she entered her home to feel a familiar tingling in the atmosphere of a Garganta being opened…

iOnna, I have found you…/i


	7. Chapter 7

bChapter 7

Breathe Tonight/b

iOrihime had been too tired when she entered her home to feel a familiar tingling in the atmosphere of a Garganta being opened…

iOnna, I have found you…/i

iStretching her hand out to grab the hand of her friend, Kurosaki Ichigo, she wrapped her fingers around his warm hand. The second her fingers touched his, his features change; his eyes turned green, his hair was painted black, two horns sprouted out of his head, and as he spread two newly grown wings behind him, his clothing changed to fur on his legs, waist, and arms.

Ulquiorra-san! Orihime called out.

The split second after Ichigo became Ulquiorra, he turned into dust, the hand Orihime had just touched crumbling in her hands.

No! she screamed./i

Orihime Inoue woke up sobbing, shaking violently. After what seemed like hours of crying, she found the strength to turn her head and look at the digital alarm clock on her night stand.

i3:17 AM, /iOrihime groaned. How was she supposed to fall back into sleep (which she desperately needed, since she had just gotten home two hours ago) with the fear of another dream of Ulquiorra-san?

The orange-haired girl took a deep breath, and decided to get up and make herself a cup of coffee. Orihime tried keeping her mind off of things as she prepared her favorite coffee drink.

Getting the orange juice and milk out of the refrigerator, Orihime didn't notice a dark shadow stalking outside her window.

iOnna… Why can you not sense my presence?/i

Orihime reached across the counter to turn on the radio and began humming to the sound of a song she knew.

iHere's a little song I wrote,

You might want to sing it note for note,

Don't worry, be happy.

In every life we have some troubles,

When you worry you make it double,

Don't worry, be happy./i

Suddenly Orihime sank to her knees against the kitchen wall.

iWhy? Why did Kurosaki-san have to kill him?/i Orihime sobbed into the wall, hands clenched into fists against the wall above her.

iWhy do you cry, onna?/i

"Ulquiorra!" Orihime shrieked, the pain of her loss causing her body to shake violently and collapse completely into the floor. iWhy? Why do I realize these feelings now, when it is already to late?/i

iOnna… Do not cry. I am here. Why do you not sense me?/i

The shadow outside of Orihime Inoue's window realized that the woman could not sense or see him. Wondering why, pained by the fact, he opened another Garganta, deciding to search for a solution to his problem in Hueco Mundo.

iA Garganta?/i Orihime's head snapped up, her cries stifled by her surprise. iCould it possibly be that…?/i

Orihime internally cursed her mind for the hope that had suddenly sprung up, knowing that she would only be pushed down further into depression if that hope were crushed.

iBe happy, put a smile on your face.

Don't bring everybody down.

Don't worry, it will soon pass, whatever it is.

Don't worry, be happy./i

The radio continued to play in the background…

iBack in Hueco Mundo…/i

"Nel-chan!" Pesche and Dondochakka exclaimed in unison.

"Pesche! Dondochakka! You're safe!" Neliel sighed with relief. "Did you guys… shrink?"

The two arrancar looked at each other, and slowly turned their heads toward their friend.

"No," Pesche shook his head. Dondochakka began to whimper nervously.

"What is it?" Nel-chan asked, perplexed by her friend's odd behavior.

"You… returned to your original form," Pesche quietly explained.

"Huh?" Neliel slowly lowered her gaze and noticed (for the first time) that she was in a completely different body than the child she was used to.

Pesche sighed and explained to Neliel how she had lost her reiatsu thanks to Nnoitra Gilga, and seemingly regained it by returning to Las Noches.

iThere she is,/i the shadow thought. He had followed Neliel Tu Oderschvank's reiatsu after exiting the Garganta in hope that she might be able to help him. The shadow did not want to go to the ex-Espada for help, but knew that all his fellow Espada had been exterminated.

Neliel took the news well, regaining her memory as Pesche and Dondochakka told her the story or how she had lost her reiatsu.

"N-n-nel-" Dondochakka stammered, gazing in horror at something behind Nel's head.

"What is i-" she turned around and stared at the sight behind her in shock.

"Neliel Tu Oderschwank, I am in need of your assistance."

iAnd in a small apartment in Karakura Town…/i

Orihime hated the fact that she continuously looked for a glimmer of hope, for a slim chance that Ulquiorra Cifer would appear out of think air. She hated the fact that she still had the imagination of a three year old, who envisioned her prince charming to come rescue her and ride off into the sunset.

Yet Orihime knew, these were irreplaceable parts of her that made her who she was, that made her friends look to her when they were sad.

But this situation was just so… unbearably painful that Orihime did not know what to do. She knew it sounded ridiculous that she had developed feelings of this depth for someone who she had met less than a month ago, who also just happened to be the person who kidnapped her and worked for the enemy.

Orihime sighed, getting up and deciding that she no longer wanted coffee. Cleaning up the orange juice and milk she had previously set out, Orihime wondered what Sado-kun and Ishida-kun were doing at that moment.

iProbably sleeping, /iher conscious told her. iOf course they'd be sleeping! It's 4:00 AM!/i

Exhausted from the previous day and her recent dream and breakdown, Orihime dragged her self back to bed, collapsing into the sheets and falling asleep as soon as he head hit the pillow…

iBehind a sand dune in Hueco Mundo…/i

"Thank you, Neliel Tu Oderschwank," the shadow of a certain Espada thanked the green-haired ex-Espada for her help in explaining the phenomenon in which he found himself trapped. She had told him that he had somehow come back from the dimension of nothingness that lay between all other dimensions.

After Ulquiorra had somehow broken out of the dimension of true death, as Neliel had called it, his body hadn't materialized along with his conscious. According to Neliel, his body needed time to "catch up". She told him that she did not know exactly how long it would take for him to completely materialize again, but she hypothesized that Ulquiorra's faint outline would be visible to non-Espadas (Shinigami, normal Hollows & Arrancar, humans with reiatsu and the power to sense it, etc.) within a week's time.

Nel nodded in acknowledgement.

iWhy is the Cuatro Espada so confused that he has to ask another Espada for help? What happened to him…?/i

"Farewell, Neliel tu Oderschwank. And thank you again for your help," Ulquiorra stood up, and left without another world, not waiting for a reply.

iBEEP! BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!/i Orihime jumped at the loud noise her alarm clock made.

She groaned, i6:00 AM?/i

Forgetting that she had school that day, she hit the off button on the alarm and fell right back asleep…

"Where are Inoue-san and Kurosaki-san?" the sensei asked the class.

"Kurosaki is sick," Ishida simply stated.

"And Inoue-san?"

Sado and Ishida looked at each other, worried about why Orihime hadn't shown up for school that day.

iI'll go check on her after school, /iUryuu thought.

As soon as the school bell ran, Ishida-kun was out of his seat and out the door, heading straight towards Inoue-san's apartment.

After ringing the doorbell repeatedly for 5 minutes, Ishida began to slightly panic.

iWhere could she-/i

"Oh! Good morning, Ishida-kun!" a half-asleep Orihime, who was still wearing a tattered and torn Hueco Mundo outfit, answered the door.

"Inoue-san," Ishida said concerned, "Why weren't you in school today?"

"Huh?" Orihime's eyes grew wide as she processed what he had just said. "iI skipped school?/i Oh no, no, no, no, no! Sensei is going to kill me!"

"Calm down! She wasn't mad. She gave me the make up work for you."

"Thank you Ishida-kun!" Orihime smiled. "Oh! Would you liked to come inside?"

"Umm… sure," Ishida stepped inside her apartment.

"Take a seat on the couch if you'd like, Ishida-kun!" Orihime smiled. "I'm just going to make myself some coffee… Would you like something?"

Ishida thought of the… odd set of taste buds that Orihime had and thought twice about asking for something. "No, thank you."

"Thank you for stopping by, Ishida-kun!" Orihime called as inside Uryuu left her apartment to go home.

"I can't believe I missed school! I didn't think that I could ever sleep as long as I did… but then again yesterday was exhausting!" Orihime talked to herself as headed to her bathroom to clean herself up.

"Maybe Inside-kun can sew this for me," she thought as she took off her ruined Hueco Mundo outfit. Pulling on a red sweater and some sweatpants, Orihime made her way to the kitchen, where her pile of make up work lay. She sighed, not wanting to do school work.

After a short internal argument, Orihime sat on the couch in her living room with the stack of papers.

iAfter skipping school today, I don't want to show sensei that I am irresponsible!/i

Orihime hummed quietly as she started on the first paper of the stack.

After two hours of vigorously working on make up work, and successfully completing all of it, Orihime decided to make herself something to eat.

She had already set out the Oranges, Crushed Red Chili Peppers, and Rice, and had just taken a glass of champignons out of the refrigerator, when an all too familiar static in the air made her drop the glass, causing it to shatter all over the floor.

Orihime didn't move.

iA Garganta.../i

iHow will I occupy myself until the onna is able to see me?/i the conscious Ulquiorra Cifer floated above Karakura Town, thinking up all the possibilities he had. He could stay at the Urahara Shop until he could be seen, or he could aimlessly wander around. "Stalking" the onna was out of the question.

Slowly picking up the shattered pieces of glass from the glass of champignons, Orihime's mind was functioning at a mile a minute.

What did the Garganta mean? Did some of the Espada survive? Was someone coming to kidnap her again?

She refused to think that Ulquiorra had returned from the dead.

He was dead, she had to accept that, no matter how hard it was.

Taking a deep breath, Orihime picked up the last big chunk of glass and walked over to the trash can, dropping the glass into it.

"Ow!" she exclaimed as a pick sliced her finger. Sticking her finger in her mouth to cover the cut, she quickly hurried to the bathroom to grab a band-aid.

"There! All better!" Orihime grabbed one of her kiddy Hello Kitty band-aids and put it on the cut.

After covering her scratch, Orihime walked into the closet in the hallway the led to the kitchen to grab a broom and dustpan to collect the rest of the shattered glass. Dodging some boxes of Christmas and Halloween ornaments, she grabbed the only broom she owned.

iWhere did I put the dustpan?/i Orihime began digging thru a pile of random things in the back of the tiny closet. Suddenly, she heard a small squeaking noise.

"iAHH!/i" Orihime screamed, tripped over her own feat and fell onto the pile of boxes behind her, causing her to flip over them and land painfully on her arm with a light snapping and crunching sound.

Tears came to her eyes as she finally registered the pain and looked down at her arm.

iOh no…/i Orihime realized she had broken her arm, possibly sprained the hand on her other arm, and reopened the cut on her finger from the broken glass.

Sighing, trying to ignore the pain in both her arms, she stood up and went to get the phone.

Then she realized that since both of her hands were immobilized, she couldn't call anyone.

iNot this, too,/i Orihime almost collapsed onto the floor into a crying heap. Knowing that she needed to get medical help, she decided to walk to Kurosaki-san's house, since his father Isshin was a doctor.

Running towards the Kurosaki house, she ignored the odd, worried stares she was getting from the people passing her on the sidewalk. Since her friend's house wasn't far away from hers, she reached it in under 5 minutes.

Orihime shifted nervously on her feet in front of the door, wondering how she was supposed to ring the doorbell. Deciding to use her nose, she moved her head to the doorbell and just as she was about to ring it…

"Bye, Dad!" Karin stormed out the door, ramming into Orihime in the process. "Oh! I'm so sorry, Inoue-sa… Inoue-san! What happened to you!"

Orihime had fallen onto the concrete driveway and cringed in pain. "Oh, n-no thing," she gave her most dazzling smile, "I was cooking and dropped a glass and cut myself and then I tripped over some boxes because of a mouse and hurt my arms and it's no big deal!"

Karin gazed at her brother's classmate in concern. "Oh, um… Let me get my dad for you!"

"DAD!" Karin boomed into the house, making Orihime jump slightly.

"What is it Karin-chan?" Kurosaki Isshin came bounding the door, ecstatic as ever.

"Oh my! What happened to you Orihime-chan?" In one sweeping motion, Isshin picked Orihime up bridal style and carried her into the house to the examination room down the hall.

Orihime explained to Kurosaki-san's father what had happened and that it was her own clumsiness that had caused her injuries.

"Mhm…" Isshin examined Orihime's left arm. He finally told her that she had sprained her left wrist and needed stitches on her finger. (Orihime cringed; she despised stitches.) After he examined her left arm he moved to the right, being extremely careful with it since he saw her cringing in pain every time he touched it.

"Orihime-chan… You did this falling over a ibox/i?" Orihime blushed with embarrassment and looked down at the floor.

"Hai," she said quietly. Kurosaki sighed and went to a cupboard across the room.

"You fractured your lower Radius and some minor wrist bones," he said as he grabbed bandages, needle and thread, anesthesia, disinfectant wipes, and an arm sling.

Orihime nodded, pretending she knew what that meant. She was pretty sure that the Radius was somewhere in the arm… but she wasn't sure.

Orihime cringed visibly when Kurosaki Isshin got out a needle to inject the anesthesia.

Isshin smiled gently at his patient, "It won't hurt, I promise, Orihime-chan."

Orihime bit her lip and shut her eyes tight, waiting for the pain of the needle in both of her lower arms.

"There, all done!" Orihime's eyes flew open, surprised. A smile grew on her face as she thanked the doctor.

"Okay, I'm going to go get the gloves I need. I ran out of them, it seems… But when I come back the anesthesia should have already kicked in. Lay down over there," Kurosaki pointed at the patient's bed in the middle of the room. "I will be back shortly."

Orihime went to lie down on the bed, struggling to get onto the top of it without using her hands. When she was finally lying down, comfortable, she decided to take a nap, more exhaustion from the previous day hitting her like a tidal wave.

iUlquiorra had decided that he would stay at the Urahara Shop for a couple of days before he went to his onna. He resisted the urge to go find her that very moment, an unknown urge that he had never known before, and that he only now felt thanks to his new heart…/i

iTwo hours later, in the Kurosaki household…/i

Orihime's eyes fluttered open. Confused at where she was, she suddenly remembered that she was in Kurosaki-san's house.

"Oh! I fell asleep!" Orihime jumped up embarrassed. She heard a lively chuckle. Turning her head to see where it came from, she saw Ichigo's father sitting on a couch across the room, reading a medical magazine.

"I see you're awake," Kurosaki Isshin close the magazine, set it next to him, and got up, walking over to Orihime.

"Doumo Arigatou Gozaimasu!" Orihime bowed.

Isshin laughed, "No need to be so formal, Orihime-chan! You're very welcome."

Orihime smiled. The entire Kurosaki family seemed to be very nice and generous to her.

iWhat a nice family,/i she thought to herself, smiling peacefully.

"Oh! I really must be going… I still have to clean up the mess I made in my apartment… Thanks again Mr. Kurosaki!" With that the orange-haired girl ran out of her apartment.

"What is the Cuatro Espada doing outside of my shop?" Ulquiorra, who had just dozed up, woke with a start.

"How is it that you are able to see me?" The perplexed Espada questioned.

"Why would I not be able to?" The saddle-hat man titled his head to one side and covered most of his face with his fan.

"If you have the ability to see me, does that mean that others do, too?"

"Well," Urahara Kisuke began. "I see a faint outline of you. It is as if you are what humans would consider a 'ghost'."

Ulquiorra nodded. Kisuke guessed, from the way he acted, that the Cuatro Espada was not a very talkative type, and would not explain to the shop owner why he was barely visible.

iIf he can see me… does that mean Onna can see me as well?/i Ulquiorra pondered. Deciding to seek out the onna and see if she could also see the "ghost" of him, he nodded his head to the ex-Captain to thank him, and disappeared.

Urahara knew that that would not be the last time that he would see the Espada in front of his shop. In fact, he had an odd feeling that their next encounter would be very soon…

Orihime Inoue skipped home, ignoring the looks that she (always) got from passing strangers as she greeted them with a big, genuine smile.

"Oh, no…" Orihime realized she had left her door open and unlocked. Running the last few meters to her door, she ran inside.

Just as she rounded the corner into the kitchen, she saw a clean kitchen floor. There were no traces of the glass anywhere, except…

There was a shadow holding a now empty dustpan and broom. He had frozen when he heard Orihime enter her apartment.

"Onna," it sounded like a whisper to Orihime, but the voice was unmistakable.

Orihime crumbled to her knees, "Ulquiorra-san…"


	8. Chapter 8

bChapter 8

Lunar Return/b

iOrihime Inoue skipped home, ignoring the looks that she (always) got from passing strangers as she greeted them with a big, genuine smile.

"Oh, no…" Orihime realized she had left her door open and unlocked. Running the last few meters to her door, she ran inside.

Just as she rounded the corner into the kitchen, she saw a clean kitchen floor. There were no traces of the glass anywhere, except…

There was a shadow holding a now empty dustpan and broom. He had frozen when he heard Orihime enter her apartment.

"Onna," it sounded like a whisper to Orihime, but the voice was unmistakable.

Orihime crumbled to her knees, "Ulquiorra-san…"/i

He did not move an inch. He did not blink. Ulquiorra Cifer just stared at the woman, emotions dancing across his eyes for a split second before he realized how pathetic this was and his face returned to the same stoic composure that trademarked him. His eyes ran over every inch of her, noticing her bandaged arms and hands, and the dark circles under her eyes.

iHe's alive! He's not dead… Ulquiorra-san is alive!/i Orihime's mind was overjoyed by this newly found truth.

She felt as if she couldn't breathe, as if she were frozen in time.

Neither of the two moved, neither of them spoke a word. After what seemed like days of just staring at each other, Orihime broke the silence.

"B-but I thought you were… Didn't you… Kurosaki-san, he…"

Ulquiorra still did not speak, keeping his usual calm manner; after all he had never been one to break a silence, and his newly found heart didn't change that fact. Orihime knew Ulquiorra would not speak about the matter, probably because he himself did not know exactly what had happened to him; but as it was, she did not want to break the silence between them either. She wanted to stay in this moment forever; she wanted the peaceful, happy silence between them to last.

"Inoue-san!" a frenzied Quincy burst through Orihime's open apartment door and skidded to a stop.

"Inoue-san… why are you sitting on the floor?" Orihime sighed with relief. Apparently Ishida-kun couldn't see the faint ghost outline of Ulquiorra.

"I'm sorry, I came home and…" Orihime promptly stood up, embarrassed.

Inside realized that Orihime felt uncomfortable with the fact that she was vulnerably sitting on her kitchen floor when he burst into her apartment unannounced.

"Kurosaki's dad call my father and he told me what happened to you… are you alright?"

"Hai!" Orihime nodded with genuine sincerity.

"Oh, okay. Well then, I guess I'll talk to you later? Should I call to check on you later tonight?" Ishida still couldn't help but feel that something was off about her…

"Oh no! You don't have to go to the trouble and call me! I'll be fine. Besides, we have school tomorrow," Orihime smiled a saccharine smile.

Deciding that Inoue-san didn't want to talk about it, Ishida nodded, apologized for barging in, and left.

iWhy couldn't he see Ulquiorra-san?/i Orihime wondered. Deciding to ignore the fact, she turned her attention back to the miracle at hand. Ulquiorra was alive and in her apartment.

She looked at him and noticed that he had set the dustpan on the kitchen counter and was now leaning against the wall. Orihime wondered why he hadn't spoken a word to her yet.

iWhat is it about this woman that makes me loose who I have built myself to be over the past centuries as an arrancar? I was certain that emotions and a so called "heart" were just human hindrances./i

The Cuatro Espada had always strived to seek out knowledge. He had always longed to know all there is to know, thinking that this form of intelligence would clear up the mystery of the human heart. Yes, he despised most humans, labeling them "trash", casting them aside without a second glance. Yes, he thought of emotions as unnecessary and handicapping; but this onna, whom he knew to be extremely gentle and caring (even for her enemies), had cracked, if not completely shattered, the until know invincible wall of knowledge and reason he, Ulquiorra Cifer, had strived so long to build.

Ulquiorra Cifer also despised being pitied. He despised it along with being weak, vulnerable. Knowing that at the moment, Ulquiorra seemed to be pitied by the woman, which in turn made him feel weak and vulnerable, the Espada decided to deter Orihime Inoue's thoughts for the time being.

"Onna, what have you done to your arms?" He spoke in his unwavering, monotonous voice. Orihime lowered her eyes, ashamed that she was being chided slightly by him, but immediately perking up and smiling embarrassedly.

iHe's talking to me!/i Orihime couldn't have been happier. i But now I have to explain my injuries to him…/i

Orihime internally groaned at the thought, knowing that it had been her own clumsy fault.

"Well, I was making myself something to eat and then I dropped a glass of mushrooms and then I sliced my finger cleaning the glass up. Then I decided to get a dustpan and broom and when I found it I tripped over some boxes and…"

Orihime rambled on and on, visibly irritating Ulquiorra. Seeing this she stopped and smiled sheepishly.

iWhat a clumsy human this (my) onna is,/i Ulquiorra unknowingly softened his eyes to reveal the layers upon layers of concern and worry that had been hidden behind his unbreakable mask. The Espada was overly conscious of the strange feeling inside of his chest, that continued to build up.

It did not take long for him to drop his guard completely and let his heart take over, even if it was for the tiniest fraction of a second.

Before Orihime could comprehend what was happening, Ulquiorra was standing in front of her. Slowly he lifted a hand and raised her chin up to look into his eyes.

Orihime took a deep breath, mesmerized by the Espada's deep, green eyes.

"Why did you not call your Shun Shun Rikka to heal you, onna?" Orihime's eyes widened with embarrassment, and then narrowed.

"I wasn't thinking too clearly after slicing my finger open, breaking one arm, and spraining the other," Orihime's eyes widened, this time with shock, at her outburst. She quickly brought her hands to her mouth and apologized.

"Sorry, Ulquiorra-san…" Orihime whispered.

iWhy do I feel a bolt of excitement every time she calls me "Ulquiorra-san"?/i

"Onna…" Orihime raised her eyes, which she had cast towards the floor, to meet Ulquiorra's green ones.

"Hai, Ulquiorra-san?" The Espada felt the familiar excitement coursing through him for a split second.

"Why do you call me that?"

"Call you want?" The onna was puzzled. This slightly annoyed Ulquiorra, though he didn't let Orihime see this.

"Why do you call me 'Ulquiorra-san'? Do you consider me a…" Ulquiorra searched for the proper word, "friend?"

The word felt strange and foreign to his tongue. He had never been a 'friend' to anyone, and he had never been considered a friend by any other being, whether human or hollow.

Orihime felt a slight pang of disappointment. iWhy am I disappointed… could it be that I truly do… favor Ulquiorra-san?/i

Orihime smiled, trying to hide her slightly downcast mood, "Yes, Ulquiorra-san. You are my friend."

Ulquiorra felt a surge of adrenaline as the onna spoke these words. iBut why does she frown? Did I say something wrong? Did…/i

"I just…" Orihime interrupted his thoughts, "I… nevermind."

"What is it, Onna?" Ulquiorra remembered the melancholic expression Orihime had had the second before.

"It's nothing," she lied.

"No, it is not nothing. You would not have turned your lips down to a frown if something had not been wrong."

iWhy do I care that this onna is sad?/i Suddenly the thoughts that the Espada had thought while he was "dead" came flashing through his head.

iDo I really have feelings for the onna?/i

Ulquiorra frowned slightly at Orihime, staring right through her lie. Orihime sighed, knowing the Cuatro Espada would no stop pestering her until she told him what she had felt sad.

"It's just… I thought that… maybe you were more than a… friend," the girl blushed.

iMore than a friend? What does the onna mean with those words?/i Ulquiorra Cifer had never heard of this phrase before. How was someone more than a friend?

All Ulquiorra Cifer knew of were the terms friend and enemy, two opposites. You were either one or the other.

"Well," Orihime blushed a deeper red, "I thought we were more… lovers."

Ulquiorra's body tingled with an unknown emotion. He couldn't help but feel another shot of adrenaline shoot through his veins at the way she said the word "we".

iLovers? Does she… does she think of me as fondly as I do of her?/i Ulquiorra was slightly shocked by the thought. He wondered how anyone could ever feel fond of him. Ulquiorra Cifer was a monster, even in his own eyes; all he had ever known were death, hatred, enemies, and a strive for knowledge. The Cuatro Espada fought an internal battle with himself.

Was he supposed to drop his guard and stoop to the level of measly humans? But his Onna was a human; yes an extraordinary human, but still a human.

Did he forget all that had happened? Was he supposed to ignore all of these new, unknown emotions coursing through his entire body?

It did not take long for the Espada to finally snap, destroying what was left of the wall of reason and knowledge he himself had built.

Orihime felt an unexpected wave of fear and despair hit her when Ulquiorra did not speak. iWhat if he doesn't feel the same way I do? What if…/i

The woman's thoughts were interrupted by soft lips brushing against hers. The second Orihime realized what was happening they were gone, leaving a breathless Onna in their wake.

The couple just stared into each others eyes for what seemed like hours, when in reality it was less than a minute before they were interrupted, this time by the ringing phone.

Orihime broke the gaze and ran over to get the phone, tripping on the dustpan.

iNot again!/i Orihime's mind panicked. She couldn't catch herself since both her arms were injured. A flash of black and a split second later, she fell into the arms of the (her) Espada.

"Thanks," she breathed, blushing slightly, before reaching for the phone and answering.

"Inoue Orihime, hello?"

"Inoue-san! Are you okay?" Orihime because ever so slightly perturbed that Ishida-kun had decided to interrupt her "mushy" moment with Ulquiorra.

iHe couldn't have known,/i Orihime scolded herself for becoming irritated at her friend's concern.

"Yeah! I'm fine!" Orihime chirped happily. She heard Uryuu sigh audibly.

"Well that's good… I was really worried about you… I guess I'll let you get back to make up work! I'll see you tomorrow at school. Bye, Inoue-san!" Orihime stared at the phone, slightly shocked and puzzled. Usually Ishida-kun didn't rush their conversations. Shaking her head, she turned around to see Ulquiorra standing with his back against the wall again.

iI can see him more clearly now… He's not a shadow to me anymore./i Orihime smiled at this, glad to be able to see the face of her beloved Espada more clearly.

"It seems like you just got back from a trip to the moon…" Orihime thought out loud.

Ulquiorra stared at her, perplexed. Orihime shook her head, blushing again.

"It's just that…" Orihime decided that it was no good to lie to him again, so she told him the truth of what she had been thinking, "it seems like an eternity since I've seen you or talk to you, and now you're back, just like if you had taken a trip to the moon. It is rather far away…"

Ulquiorra smiled the most minuscule smile possible. Would he ever find the onna's (iHis/i onna's, he mentally corrected) rambling any less interesting? He would never admit it, but he slightly envied Orihime's constant optimism and constant imagination.

"I agree," Orihime looked Ulquiorra-san in the eyes, confused.

"Huh?"

"I agree with what you said earlier. We are… 'more than friends'."

Her heart skipped a beat. Orihime couldn't believe the words she had just heard; words that had come from the emotionless Cuatro Espada's mouth.

A smile spread across Orihime's face, happiness dancing across her features, as she skipped over to where Ulquiorra was leaned against the wall and wrapped her arms around him.

iShe's hugging me…/i Ulquiorra wondered if the warm feeling inside of him would stop growing, lest it explode out of his chest. Awkwardly, Ulquiorra said something that neither him nor Orihime would have ever imagined the Cuatro Espada saying:

"Onna, I am fond of you. You find ways to keep me infatuated with you undying optimism. You are the opposite of me: kind, gentle, optimistic… yet…"

Orihime cut off the Espada's words with a gentle finger placed on his lips, a loving smile on her lips.

"I am fond of you, too," Orihime stepped even closer to the Espada, placing her chin on Ulquiorra's shoulder and tightening her embrace ever so slightly.

"Welcome back from the moon," she whispered softly. Ulquiorra failed to notice a tear sliding down Orihime's face. A tear of happiness.

The Espada felt the Onna's heart fluttering in her chest, not failing to notice his own heart was reacting the same way. The stoic Espada fought the urge to end the embrace, to return to his stoic self. Awkwardly, Ulquiorra placed an arm on her back, trying to mimic his Onna's embrace.

The radio, which Orihime had completely forgotten about for the past few hours, continued playing, making the orange-haired girl blush slightly…

i And I know that I need you here with me,  
>From tonight until the end of time.<br>You should know, everywhere I go  
>You're always on my mind, in my heart, in my soul…i


	9. Chapter 9

bChapter 9

Crashed/b

i"Welcome back from the moon," she whispered softly. Ulquiorra failed to notice a tear sliding down Orihime's face. A tear of happiness.

/i

Two hours after Orihime came home to find Ulquiorra Cifer, whom she had believed to be dead, in her apartment, the couple was sitting on Orihime's couch. There was a comfortable silence between them.

Suddenly, a gurgling sound coming from Ulquiorra's stomach made Ulquiorra stare at it oddly. Orihime giggled.

"Ulquiorra-san, you're hungry! Why didn't you say so before?" Orihime glanced at the clock and gasped when she saw the time. "10:00 PM? I have school tomorrow!"

Without further words, Orihime ran to the kitchen, only to realize she couldn't grab anything with her bandaged arms.

"Um… Ulquiorra-san?" Orihime sheepishly called the Cuatro Espada's name.

"Yes, Onna?" Ulquiorra Sonidoed the short distance from the small living room to the kitchen.

"Would you mind helping me cook? I can't use my arms…" Orihime just began realizing the effects her bandaged arms would have on her.

iI could call out my Shun Shun Rikka!/i Orihime quickly called out, "Santen Kesshun, I reject!"

When nothing happened she began panicking. Then it hit her. iI must have left my Shun Shun Rikka at Kurosaki-san's house…/i

Orihime felt like slamming her head against a wall. How could she be so forgetful?

Ulquiorra watched the onna's expression change every two seconds, slightly amused.

Orihime realized that Ulquiorra was standing beside her and saw the amusement dance in his eyes, though no one else would have noticed the slight change in the way he quirked his eyebrows or the slightly different light in his eyes.

Orihime glared at him halfheartedly and then ask him to open the refrigerator.

"Refrigerator?" Ulquiorra had never heard of such a contraption before.

"This thing over here," Orihime skipped over to a white box shaped piece of furniture. Ulquiorra followed her and opened the refrigerator, slightly surprised that the inside was cold.

Orihime giggled at the expression on Ulquiorra's face. This time it was his turn to glare at her.

Ignoring the Espada's glare, Orihime told him what to get out, "We could heat up the leftover pizza… Could you grab it please? It's the big plate on top. No not that one, the one… That one!"

Ulquiorra pulled out the round, white plate. He stared at the so called "pizza" on it with interest. When Orihime skipped over to the microwave he followed, opening up the small box like piece of furniture.

iWhat are all these human contraptions?/i Ulquiorra was slightly impressed that humans had developed this kind of technology.

"Okay… click the button at the very top of the microwave four times, quickly. Then click the green button near the bottom once and the pizza will be ready in four minutes!" Orihime beamed. Following the Onna's instructions precisely, Ulquiorra pressed the buttons on the "microwave".

"Can you get two glasses out of the cupboard over here?" Orihime inclined her head towards the cupboard to her left.

Ulquiorra mentally sighed. How long was the Onna going to be handicapped?

"Onna, why not call out your Shun Shun Rikka to heal your arms?"

"Well…" Orihime blushed, "I left them at Kurosaki-san's house when I went over there earlier to have his dad, who is a doctor, help me with my injuries."

Ulquiorra stiffen visibly at the name. iKurosaki Ichigo…/i

Why did he hate the Substitute Shinigami so? Ulquiorra had never felt a grudge towards anyone. Well, except Nnoitra.

Refocusing on the feeling he felt burning towards the Vizard, he realized it wasn't hatred, though it came close. He felt that his Onna had something to do with it. Ulquiorra thought of all that he knew, all that he had read about emotions, trying to pinpoint what he felt.

iJealousy,/i he realized. iI'm feeling jealousy.

"Ulquiorra-san?" Orihime called him back to reality. Had he really just lost himself in his thoughts? Ulquiorra cursed the weaknesses and habits that came with the heart he had always longed to understand.

Without saying a word, the Espada opened up the cupboard Orihime had motioned to and grabbed to glasses.

Orihime began to feel like a burden, and shyly asked, "Can you put some water in the glass for me, please, Ulquiorra-san?"

Ulquiorra-san nodded and turned on the sink faucet, filling both glasses up with water.

"Thank you!" Orihime beamed.

"Onna, how will you drink or eat?"

Orihime's eyes widened, realizing Ulquiorra was right. She sighed; she really was a burden when she was injured. To Orihime's surprise, Ulquiorra walked over to her and held her glass to her lips, allowing her to drink.

Orihime blushed, "Thanks, Ulquiorra-san."

Ulquiorra just nodded, keeping his usual silence. The microwave beeped, signaling the pizza was ready. (Ulquiorra wasn't stupid, so he realized that the beeping meant something, and since it was coming from the microwave and about four minutes had passed, he could connect the dots: The pizza is finished.)

iTen or so minutes later…/i

Orihime couldn't believe Ulquiorra-san was actually feeding her. Like a two year old baby. She couldn't help but blush a bit whenever the Espada's hands touched her face or lips.

It was impossible to read his expression; he had hardened his face into his usual stoic expression.

Finally (after taking 5 minutes), Orihime finished her first slice of pizza.

"Arigatou Gozaimasu!" Orihime chimed, and stood up. "I'm going to g-…"

iI can't even run myself a bath!/i Orihime pouted.

"Um... Ulquiorra-san?"

He slightly raised one of his eyebrows questioningly.

"Nevermind! I can do it myself," Orihime gave her most dazzling smile. iI can use my feet!/i

Without waiting for a reply, which wouldn't have come anyways, she skipped off happily to the bathroom in her room.

Ulquiorra stared after his Onna, who was joyfully skipping towards an unknown part of the house.

iI've only seen the kitchen and the living room, and the hallway connecting the two…i Ulquiorra pondered what else Orihime's apartment contained.

The Cuatro Espada turned his concentration back to the matter in front of him: the pizza.

He had never seen a pizza before, though he had read about it once or twice. Ignoring his instinctual aversion to human food, he picked up the triangular piece of food and bit into it. Chewing slowly, he savored the flavor. He took another bite.

iHuman's food is on a whole other dimension from the "food" Aizen served us in Las Noches. This "pizza" has flavor and texture… It is delicious./i

It didn't take long for Ulquiorra to devour half the pizza, stopping when his hunger was quenched.

Orihime wondered how on earth she was supposed to get out of her clothes. Deciding to use the help of some of the bathroom objects, she walked over to the door, pushing it shut with her foot. Then she positioned her body so that the handle on the door was under her top. Squatting down, she successfully removed her top. Stepping on one of the heels of her pants, she shimmied out of those as well.

iPfew…/i Orihime walked over to the bathtub. iKurosaki-san's father told me that I should keep my arms dry…/i

How was Orihime supposed to take a bath and not get her arms wet? She sighed.

iI would go get my Shun Shun Rikka from Kurosaki-san's house, but they're all probably asleep… I'll have to get them after school./i

She stepped into the rectangular bathtub and sat on the edge, reaching her foot up to turn on the faucet.

iSeveral minutes and temperature changes later…/i

Orihime Inoue was sitting blissfully in her steaming bathtub with her arms resting gently on the edge. She had been careful not to get her injuries wet.

iI hope things settle down soon… I don't know how much more of this I can take,/i Orihime sighed. It had been a long two days… Yesterday seemed like something out a dream. The only proof that remained of her being a captive in Hueco Mundo was the torn and tattered uniform she had been forced to wear, now laying on a chair in her room, and the Cuatro Espada sitting in her apartment eating pizza.

Orihime's overactive imagination began imagining Ulquiorra wearing Italian clothes and giggled, a small smile creeping over her face.

Ulquiorra was sitting patiently on the couch on Orihime's living room, waiting for the Onna to return. He had guessed that she was taking a bath, due to the sound of running water several minutes before.

The green-eyed Espada let his eyes wander over everything in the onna's apartment, noticing how old some of the furniture was. His eyes stopped on a small shrine against the far wall. A picture of a young man was sitting on the shrine; he was smiling the same genuine smile that his Onna always smiled.

This brought a realization to Ulquiorra's mind. He knew nothing about the Onna's past. He knew nothing about her dreams and goals. All he knew was what he had learned in the short weeks he had spent with the Onna. What did she strive for? What did she want out of life? These were all questions he did not know the answer to.

Oddly, Ulquiorra felt the urge to know everything about his Onna, everything from her favorite colors to what she thought about the world.

The opening of a door alerted Ulquiorra of the Onna's return.

Orihime walked out of her room, freshly dressed in a nightgown, wet hair sticking to her head and swishing out behind her.

"Did you enjoy the pizza, Ulquiorra-san?" She tilted her head to the side, smiling.

"Yes, I did, Onna," was his simple, monotonous reply.

iHow did the Onna get dressed and bathe with two bandaged arms?/i The Espada wondered, incredulous. She never ceased to amaze him with her strength and determination.

"Well," Orihime yawned after several minutes. "I really need to be going to sleep… It's almost 11:00 PM and I have school tomorrow!"

Ulquiorra nodded.

"Ulquiorra-san?" Orihime shifted her weight from foot to foot. "Where will you sleep tonight? If you want you can sleep in my bed and I'll sleep on the couch?"

Ulquiorra shook his head, "I'm not tired."

Orihime blushed, iOf course Hollows don't sleep…/i

"Then what are you going to do while I'm asleep?" Orihime wondered.

"I need to go see Urahara Kisuke. If I am going to stay in the World of the Living, I am going to need a gigai," Orihime's heart raced with joy at Ulquiorra's statement.

iHe's going to stay!/i Orihime's mind shouted.

"Well, then I'll be going to bed. I'll be awake at 5:00, since it'll take me longer to get ready with these injuries," Orihime smiled sheepishly. "Goodnight, Ulquiorra-san."

Orihime turned to walk to her bedroom, swearing she heard the Espada bid her goodnight. A sleepy, but happy smile found it's way across the onna's mouth, which stayed in place long after she had fallen asleep…

Ulquiorra Cifer decided to go see Urahara Kisuke. He had just stepped outside of Orihime Inoue's apartment and shut the door behind him, when he turned around and was greeted by a most unexpected person.

"What were you doing in Inoue-san's apartment?" an angered Quincy hissed.

Ignoring him, Ulquiorra glared at Inside Uryuu and walked past him. The black-haired youth didn't give up, appearing in front of the Espada a split second later, this time wielding his Quincy bow, pointing an especially large arrow at him.

"I came here to see the Onna," was his simple, non-explanatory reply.

"At 11:00 PM?" Uryuu growled, preparing to release the arrow.

"Do not wake the Onna, or I will kill you," without warning Ulquiorra Cifer disappeared into the night, heading to the Urahara Shop to inquire about a gigai.

"Ah! Cifer-san!" a tired Urahara greeted the Espada, hiding his 5 o'clock shadow with his fan.

"Urahara Kisuke," Ulquiorra nodded a greeted, trying to ignore the way the ex-Captain addressed him. "I am in need of a gigai."

Urahara grinned, "I think I have just the thing for you…"

The man led the Espada to a back room in his shop. Unknown to the Espada, Urahara had been working on a gigai especially for him since the two had encountered each other earlier.

"Here we go!" Kisuke pulled out what looked like a limp body, which it sort of was. "This gigai won't slowly eat away your reiatsu and, with a little practice, you will be able to leave it whenever you want to. It also allows you to be more a human. You'll feel the urge to sleep like a human, along with several other things, like-"

"I'll take it." Ulquiorra interrupted the rambling man, becoming irritated with his incessant explanations. All he needed was a gigai that wouldn't drain his reiatsu and would allow him to exit it whenever necessary.

A grin appeared on the shop owner's face. Of course there was a catch.

"In return for the gigai, you must allow me to study you released from once a week. To make sure the gigai works properly and doesn't drain your reiatsu, of course."

Ulquiorra glared at the man, but he knew that this was the only man capable of creating a gigai for the Espada. Reluctantly, he nodded his approval and took the gigai out of Urahara's hands.

"I shall return tomorrow."

And with that, the Espada Sonidoed out of the Urahara Shop, gigai in hand, and headed back to his Onna's apartment…

Ulquiorra found it difficult to adjust to the feel of the gigai. It felt as if there was a constant film of slime covering his entire body. The Espada stopped when he passed a mirror in Orihime's hallway, in which he had been pacing nonstop.

His eyes widened. Ulquiorra Cifer's trademark tear marks and hollow mask were gone. He looked like a normal human, except for his extremely pale skin. The Espada noticed that his superhuman eyesight was still functioning properly.

The Cuatro Espada wondered if he could possibly Sonido while inside of the gigai. Deciding to try it, Ulquiorra focused on picturing his Onna's living room, down the hall. A split second later, he found himself standing in front of the couch, gigai unharmed and still in place.

iIt seems my outward appearance is all that was lost when I stepped into this gigai…/i Ulquiorra was content (for the moment) with this. He'd have to make Kisuke make him a new gigai, or modify this one, so that at least his tear marks would be present.

A sudden wave of exhaustion hit the Espada. Remembering what the sandal-hate man had told him, he sat down on his Onna's couch and fell asleep for the first time in over a millennium, for the first time since he became a hollow...

Ulquiorra's dreams were filled with a hint everything, confusing to say the least. The only constant throughout his dreams was his ever-smiling Onna. What were the chances that the two would have ever met? The Espada's dreams made it clear to him exactly how different he and his Onna were. He was a hollow: cold, emotionless, no past, no future. She was a human: lively, kind, generous, a (to him) unknown past, and a wide open future full of possibilities.

Ulquiorra Cifer's dreams were the only place, he was going to learn, that he could do whatever he wanted. They were controlled by his subconscious, his deepest desires. His dreams were the only place he could let his guard down entirely and discover things he had never known existed before.


	10. Chapter 10

bChapter 10

Collide/b

i A sudden wave of exhaustion hit the Espada. Remembering what the sandal-hate man had told him, he sat down on his Onna's couch and fell asleep for the first time in over a millennium, for the first time since he became a hollow...

/i

It was 3:00 AM and Orihime Inoue couldn't sleep. She was still too excited from the previous days' events to be able to sleep peacefully. Orihime had been able to doze off into a restless sleep some time after midnight, but woke up shortly thereafter.

Orihime sighed, iI might as well get up and start getting ready for school… Maybe Ulquiorra-san wants something to drink?/i

Groaning quietly, Orihime rolled over on her bed and turned her alarm clock off.

i3:07 AM,/i Orihime knew she should try to sleep some since she had school the next day, but knew that she wouldn't be able to sleep. Especially not knowing that the Cuatro Espada was probably sitting in her living room staring stoically at the wall.

Orihime giggled at the image her imagination conjured up of an emotionless Ulquiorra Cifer sitting on her bright yellow couch in her lively living room.

iI still can't believe he's here… alive,/i Orihime smiled at the though. She had believed that her beloved Espada was dead, killed by Kurosaki-san's hollow. Orihime shivered, remembering the cold, menacing eyes that Ichigo always possessed while in his hollow form. But as much as her instincts told her to avoid Kurosaki-san, as much as they told her that his inner hollow was only lying dormant for the time being, Orihime couldn't bring herself to avoid her friend. She couldn't bring herself to feel any ill feelings towards Kurosaki Ichigo.

Her gentle, loving heart no longer belonged to the Substitute Shinigami, she knew this; Orihime Inoue's heart now belonged to the man in her living room.

An unexpected thought ran through the girl's head, iWhat will my friends think when they find out that someone else, someone of the opposite gender, is living in my apartment!/i

Orihime blushed. Ulquiorra really was living under her roof. Where else did he have to go? Orihime's face sank.

iHe really is alone…/i

Irritated at her depressing train of thought, Orihime shook her head and got out of bed, walking to her closet to get out her uniform.

Then she remembered her arms were injured. Orihime frowned, knowing she was going to have to use her feet to open her closet and get out clothes.

Balancing on one foot, Orihime raised her other one, placing it on the closet door and slowly sliding it open. After the door was open, the orange-haired woman raised her foot a little higher to "grab" her uniform skirt and shirt that lay on a pile near the middle of the closet.

iSeveral minutes and failed attempts later…/i

Orihime Inoue was beginning to breathe harder, due to the extra effort it took to put her clothes on. She had been able to successfully shimmy into her skirt (which thankfully didn't have to be zipped or buttoned up, due to its elastic quality) and somehow slip into her shirt.

Satisfied that she had put her clothes on correctly, and didn't end up with her shirt on backwards, Orihime decided to go ask Ulquiorra-san if he'd like some coffee.

Skipping down the hallway to her living room, Orihime skidded to a halt when she saw an unexpected sight.

A very human Ulquiorra was asleep on her couch.

iUlquiorra-san must have gotten a gigai!/i Orihime mentally chimed. iToo bad he didn't keep his tear marks…/i

Orihime really like his tear marks. She didn't know why, but they brought out something in the Espada's personality.

It seemed like hours that Orihime Inoue stood there, watching the Espada sleep. She was infatuated with the fact that in his sleep, Ulquiorra looked almost peaceful. To any other person, it would seem that he still held the same stoic composure he had when he was awake, but Orihime could see the way his eyebrows were slightly less furrowed, the way his lips were slightly less a straight line.

Orihime smiled, iI guess I'll just have to make coffee for myself./i

iEverything was black. There was no sound. Nothing moved in this absolute darkness.

Suddenly there was a flash of brilliant light; the light filled up every inch of the darkness, bringing color and texture to this vast world of emptiness, of blackness. The light was beautiful to say the least; it was all the known colors, and shades of colors unheard of. The beauty of the light enveloped everything, allowing plants to grow where before there had been just darkness and a vast void of nothingness. Just as fast as it had appeared, bringing life and color to the dark vastness of this world, the light was doused, put out by an unknown, menacing force, bringing a tidal wave of sorrow with it…/i

Ulquiorra Cifer woke with a start. He was filled with an unknown fear. This fear was nothing compared to the fear he had felt before, the fear of death, the fear of loosing, the fear of not understanding. This fear consumed his entire being, causing an unknown pressure to build up in his chest.

The Cuatro Espada began to analyze the dream, knowing from books that he had read that human's dreams are often conjurations of one's subconscious, with the true meaning behind the dream buried deep within layers upon layers of symbolism. It stumped Ulquiorra that he could not find a meaning to the dream, no matter which way he look at it, no matter which perspective her chose to observe it from. It utterly frustrated the usually emotionless Espada that he was so vulnerable in dreams; it frustrated him almost as much as the fact that he knew he had finally obtained a heart, but also knew that he wasn't a single step closer to understanding it. It frustrated him just a much as the horrendous gigai he had stepped into, the cursed gigai that granted its user human emotions and weaknesses, such as the need for sleep.

"Ulquiorra-san, are you awake?" A quiet voice called from the kitchen. The Espada's ever mounting fear and frustration melted away, replaced with relief at the Onna's voice.

"Yes, I am awake, Onna," Ulquiorra Cifer was sure to speak monotonously, unwilling to show the sudden spout of weakness caused by his all too human dreaming. Recomposing his slightly widened eyes, he stood up and turned to walk into the kitchen where the Onna's voice had come from.

Orihime smiled at the Espada. She was slightly disappointed that the peaceful look that he had worn while he was sleeping had disappeared and was now replaced by Ulquiorra's stoic mask.

"Would you like some coffee, Ulquiorra-san?" She chimed as she poured herself a cup of coffee (with her feet. She was sitting on the counter and using her feet as replacement hands).

iCoffee?/i Ulquiorra had heard of this substance. Ichimaru Gin and Aizen had mentioned the human drink several times, but had never drunken it in front of the Cuatro Espada.

The Espada nodded, deciding that since he had taken a liking to the pizza from the previous night, the coffee would fit his fancy as well.

"With sugar or milk?" Orihime saw the slightly puzzled quirk of the Espada's eyebrows and giggled.

"I'll just make your coffee the same way I make mine," Ulquiorra nodded. He watched the Onna intently as she took out another cup (with her feet), added coffee to his cup (with her feet), milk and sugar to both hers and his coffee (again… with her feet), and stirred both with a spoon… with her feet.

Orihime let the Cuatro Espada grab the cup of swirling, light brown liquid off of the counter. Hopping off the counter and bending over her cup, taking a sip of her own coffee, she eyed Ulquiorra, waiting for his reaction after he took his first sip.

Ulquiorra almost gagged at the sweet concoction the woman had made him to drink, though he hid this from her and painfully downed the entire mug of coffee, not wanting to ruin the beaming smile his Onna now had on her face.

iPerhaps I should ask for no sugar next time," he had never thought something could taste so overly sweet. And he had never imagined Orihime capable of using her feet in such a manner.

Looking at the clock, Orihime gasped, "I'm going to be late for school!" How could the time fly so fast? Just a minute ago it was 5:30 AM… And now it was 7:15 AM and she had a ten minute walk to school, with her classes starting at 7:30.

Orihime flew to the door, slipped into some flats, and thanked Ulquiorra-san for handing her backpack to her.

"Arigatou, Ulquiorra-san!" and without another word, his Onna disappeared around the corner of her street at a sprint.

Ulquiorra sighed. He didn't want to have to go to the Urahara Shop so that the ex-Shinigami Captain could run tests on him. A vision of the Szayel Aporro Granz, the Octava Espada's lab ran through Ulquiorra's mind, causing him to narrow his eyes suspiciously. If Urahara Kisuke was anything like the pink-haired Espada, Ulquiorra knew he would find it exceeding difficult not to tear the shop owner's head off.

This sudden feeling of anger and suspicion caught the Cuatro Espada off guard.

iThis cursed gigai really does seem to multiply my human reactions,/i Ulquiorra thought, calming himself, trying to reassure himself that he was still the same Espada he had been several days ago.

"Thanks, Tatsuki-chan!" Orihime smiled at her friend, who had pulled out her chair for her when she saw her running into class with two bandaged arms.

"What did you do to yourself?" Tatsuki asked, incredulously staring at the sling and bandages.

"Oh, I was careless and tripped over some boxes, it's nothing," Orihime smiled embarrassedly.

"Good morning, class!" The sensei walked in. "Where is Ishida-san today?"

Orihime looked up, concerned.

iIshida-kun never misses school… Hmm… Why could he possibly be absent?/i Orihime pondered this until the sensei went on to the day's lesson.

"Today we will be looking at the relationship between…"

That was all Orihime Inoue heard before she was lost in her thoughts, staring out the window, wondering what Ulquiorra-san was doing at that moment…

"Ah! Good morning, Cuatro Espada-san!" Urahara gaily greeted his new friend (In Kisuke's eyes, anyone who bought something from his shop, was a friend.) and waved him inside.

Ulquiorra Cifer didn't even nod an acknowledging hello, and just walked into the sandal-hat man's shop.

"Would you like some coffee, Ulquiorra-san?" Ulquiorra shook his head.

"Okay! Hmm… well, follow me; I need to do a few tests before we can start for the day!"

The ex-Captain led the Espada to a room in the back off his shop.

"Please take a seat, Ulquiorra-san!" Urahara said.

As odd as it was, Ulquiorra suddenly felt a rush of an unknown emotion. He did not like the way the man called him "Ulquiorra-san". Only his Onna could call him that and not make him feel disrespected.

The Cuatro Espada watched Kisuke attentively as he got out several pieces of equipment that looked like they belonged in a nurse's office, not the Urahara Shop. As Urahara Kisuke took his blood pressure, temperature, and drew a sample of blood (which also served as a way to measure reiatsu, Urahara had explained), Ulquiorra pretended to be as nonchalant as ever, not allowing a single thing to even scratch his mask of stoicism.

"Okay, Ulquiorra-san," Ulquiorra internally flinched slightly. "If you would follow me…"

This time Urahara led him to his underground training room, opening a trapdoor like contraption to reveal and exceptionally long ladder and an enormous room below.

As Urahara took his time climbing down the ladder, Ulquiorra Sonidoed down and waited emotionlessly.

As the man finally reached the last rung of the ladder, he began to speak, "Today, we will be-"

"So there you are, Espada," a voice hissed from above, interrupting Kisuke. As a blue arrow shot down from the opening "door" to the underground room, Ulquiorra barely stepped out of the way in time to avoid getting hit by an especially strong arrow of spirit particles…


	11. Chapter 11

bChapter 11

An Angry Quincy, Pt. 1/b

i"So there you are, Espada," a voice hissed from above, interrupting Kisuke. As a blue arrow shot down from the opening "door" to the underground room, Ulquiorra barely stepped out of the way in time to avoid getting hit by an especially strong arrow of spirit particles…

/i

The Cuatro Espada shot a nasty glare at Inside Uryuu. "What do you want, Quincy?"

"Stay away from Inoue-san!" He growled. A split second later he jumped down from the top of the ladder using his Hirenkyaku and simultaneously fired a cloud of arrows in the direction of Ulquiorra, who dodged them easily.

"Ishida-san… Ulquiorra-san, please don't fight!" Ulquiorra shot a glare at the shop owner, who was obviously trying to half heatedly stop the enraged Quincy from attacking him. Urahara Kisuke hadn't moved an inch, and was just standing near the ladder with his fan covering most of his face.

The Cuatro Espada was finding it difficult to avoid the arrows and outrun the Quincy in his gigai. He began remembering the conversation Urahara had had with him about the gigai, trying to think of what the sandal-hat man has said about it…

i""This gigai won't slowly eat away your reiatsu and, with a little practice, you will be able to leave it whenever you want to…"/i

Ulquiorra concentrated on escaping the limiting gigai. It took the Espada only two tries before he was completely out of the gigai and free of the slimy feeling of it on every inch of his body. The gigai dropped lifelessly to the ground behind Ulquiorra, surprising the Quincy, giving the Espada enough time Sonido to Urahara.

"Ah, Cuatro Espada-saaan~" Ulquiorra glared at the man, making him cover more of his face with his fan.

Ulquiorra flared his reiatsu when he felt another cloud of Quincy arrows heading his way, causing the arrows to disintegrate in midair. Ishida's eyes widened and Urahara stopped fanning himself.

"It seems the gigai didn't eat away at your reiatsu, correct, Ulquiorra-san?" Ulquiorra nodded, regretting the fact that he had agreed to let the mad scientist of a shopkeeper to "check on" Ulquiorra every week.

Uryuu didn't give up, firing another, denser cloud at the Espada, who had Sonidoed away from Kisuke.

"Do you honestly expect those weak arrows to ever reach me, human?" Ulquiorra nonchalantly said, flaring his reiatsu again.

Ishida Uryuu knew that he couldn't defeat the Cuatro Espada, but he couldn't stop the rage inside of him from continuing to motivate him to repeatedly shoot arrows at him. He couldn't let the filthy hollow touch Inoue-san. Uryuu had not the slightly inkling as to what the orange-haired girl saw in the Espada that made her act so friendly towards him. He had kidnapped her and most likely threatened her numerous times, yet she still found the ability and the want to be nice to him, to even let him stay in her apartment.

Ishida's thoughts only further fueled the hatred (and jealousy) burning inside of him.

Suddenly Ulquiorra raised his reiatsu to an immense level, bringing Uryuu to his knees, eyes wide with shock. The Espada had had enough of playing tag with the Quincy, whom he obviously outmatched in every way. Even so, why was the young man determined to fight him? Ulquiorra knew that the Quincy understood that if the Espada began taking things seriously, this little game of tag would turn into a suicide mission for Ishida.

Urahara ceased the movement of his fan and widened his eyes slightly, "Impressive reiatsu, Ulquiorra-san."

Ulquiorra glared at the shopkeeper for what seemed the millionth time that day. He wasn't surprised that the man was still standing; after all, he had been a Captain of Soul Society at one point in time.

The Cuatro Espada turned his attention back to the Quincy, who was no desperately trying to find the strength to stand up under the pressure of Ulquiorra's reiatsu.

"Orihime-san?" Sensei called Orihime Inoue out of her day dream. "Are you okay? You're unusually quiet and withdrawn today. Everyone else is already at lunch."

Orihime looked around and realized that sensei was right; she and sensei were the only two people left in the classroom.

"Oh!" Orihime stood up and smiled embarrassedly, "Gomenasai, sensei!"

The orange-haired girl quickly hurried out the door to find Tatsuki-chan.

"There you are, Inoue-san!" Tatsuki Arisawa called out, breathing a sigh of relief that her friend had snapped out of whatever daze she had been in all morning.

"Sorry, Tatsuki-chan!" Orihime placed a hand on the back of her neck, trying to think of a way to explain to her best friend why she was so distant today. Should she tell her everything that had happened? Why Orihime had mysteriously disappeared from school for weeks on end?

"So where were you the past month or so, anyways, Orihime-san?" Tatsuki ask, causing Orihime's heart to race. Should couldn't lie to her best friend, yet how could she tell her the truth?

"Umm…" Orihime thought of the first thing that came to mind, "I was with my great uncle in Alaska!"

Tatsuki gave her friend a probing stare. It was obvious Inoue was lying. Orihime laughed nervously.

"Is it the same reason that Kurosaki-san has been absent?" Orihime caught her breath.

"Sort of… not really," she thought of a way to try to explain it to Tatsuki. "You wouldn't believe me even if I told you."

Tatsuki gave Orihime a try-me-look. Glancing around, making sure that no one else was within hearing range Orihime took a deep breath to explain to her best friend why she had been gone…

Ishida was panting heavily, nearly collapsing from exhaustion. He had been chasing the Cuatro Espada for what seemed like hours now, but no matter how fast the Quincy moved, Ulquiorra moved that much faster.

"Ishida-san~" Urahara sang, "I think you should stop now… You're exhausted and Ulquiorra-san is rather annoyed with you."

Ulquiorra Cifer hated the chiding, parental tone Urahara Kisuke spoke with. Sonidoing over to the area he had rid himself of his gigai, he sighed. The Espada had no wish of returning to the slimy confines of the gigai, but also knew that he had no choice.

"Why don't we go upstairs and have some tea?"

"WHAT?" Tatsuki interrupted. Orihime flinched. She had been glad that her friend had kept her mouth closed while Orihime talked about Hueco Mundo. But when she got to the part about how the miraculously resurrected Cuatro Espada was living in her apartment, Arisawa snapped.

"You're letting a iguy/i live in your apartment? Even worse: an ienemy/i guy!"

"He's not an enemy!" Orihime defended her Espada, frowning slightly at her friend.

The sudden ringing of the bell announced the end of the lunch break, saving Orihime from having to explain anything else to Tatsuki-chan. She hurried back to class, ignoring the slightly furious and extremely frustrated look she was getting from her friend.

"So Ulquiorra-san, how do you like the gigai?" Urahara-san interrupted the awkward silence between the Quincy, Cuatro Espada, and ex-Shinigami Captain.

"It is suitable," was the green-eyed hollow's reply. Kisuke nodded.

Ishida look like he'd rather be eating nails than having tea with one of his enemies.

The (attempted) fight with Ulquiorra made the Quincy realize something: he was jealous of him. Uryuu knew that Orihime felt something for the arrancar, though he couldn't fathom a single reason as to why she would do such a thing.

The truth be told, Ishida Uryuu had been secretly crushing on Orihime for years, though he disguised his feelings extremely well. He knew that Inoue didn't share his feelings; he knew that her heart had belonged to Kurosaki. Perhaps that was one reason that the Quincy hadn't been able to stand the Substitute Shinigami before their shared adventures.

Snapping out of his thoughts, Ishida stood up, "I really need to get going."

Without an explanation, the Quincy was gone.

Orihime watched the clock above the door of the classroom anxiously.

i3… 2… 1…/i the bell rang, signaling the end of another school day. The girl jumped up and was out the door before anyone else had even finished packing up, being sure to avoid the eyes of her best friend, Tatsuki Arisawa.

Orihime ran home, making it to her apartment door in less than three minutes, pleasantly surprised to see a certain Espada open the door.

"Hi, Ulquiorra-san!" Orihime chimed as she skipped in the door, throwing her backpack in its usual corner and flopping down on the couch. She sighed, placing the back of her hand on her forehead.

Feeling the couch shifting beside her, Orihime looked at Ulquiorra and smiled warmly, glad to see him.

Ulquiorra Cifer couldn't find an explanation as to why he found his Onna's smile so entrancing. He was pleased when she smiled.

After several minutes of silence, Orihime broke it, "So what did you do today, Ulquiorra-san?"

"I was at the Urahara Shop," Ulquiorra decided not to tell his Onna about the encounters with her friend, the Quincy. If she were to ask about details from his day, he would simply tell her that he had tea with Urahara Kisuke and started paying off the gigai.

"The Urahara Shop? What were you doing there?" Orihime was genuinely interested, leaning forward.

"I had tea with Urahara Kisuke and inquired about a new gigai. I also started to pay off my debt on the gigai."

"You should have told me that you owe Urahara-san for the gigai! I would have given you some money to-"

"Onna," Ulquiorra interrupted, "it is my debt to pay off, not yours. Also, Urahara Kisuke does not want money from me as payment."

Orihime nodded; she should have known that the sandal-hat man would want something other than money from the Espada. After all, he had never observed an Espada before.

Then Inoue remembered that she needed to go Kurosaki-san's house and get her Shun Shun Rikka.

"I'll be back soon," she said, jumping up off of the couch, "I need to get my Shun Shun Rikka from Kurosaki-san's house."

Without waiting for a reply, Orihime skipped to the door (which she opened with her foot).

Ulquiorra walked to the door and shut it, trying to suppress the feeling that had grown in his chest as soon as his Onna had said he was going to Kurosaki Ichigo's house. It was foolish to believe that Orihime was going to see her friend, since he was in a coma-like state at the time, but he couldn't rid himself of the feeling crawling through him, almost as slimy as the gigai.

Orihime skipped down the road to Kurosaki Ichigo's house, humming a random tune as she went. When she reached the front door or Ichigo's house, she rang the doorbell with her nose, as she had planned to do yesterday, and waiting patiently.

"Ah, Orihime-chan!" Kurosaki's father chimed.

"Hi, Mr. Kurosaki," Orihime smiled at the comical sight before her. Kurosaki Isshin was covered in flour from head to toe, except for part of his face (which was smeared with chocolate) and his hands (which were chocolate covered).

"Forgive me appearance, I'm trying to bake a cake," Isshin let the girl inside.

"Oh…" Orihime took one look in the kitchen before coming to the decision that compared to Kurosaki-san's father she was the world's most organized cook.

"I was wondering…" Orihime began. "Have you seen my blue hairclips?"

"Hmm?" Isshin tapped his chin with his finger, thinking (and leaving behind brown spots of chocolate). "Oh yes! They're laying on the table in the front room."

"Thank you, Mr. Kurosaki!"

"You're most welcome, Orihime-chaaan~" he sang.

"If you don't mind, I really have to get back home," Isshin looked up from a ruined cookbook.

"Of course, my dear!" Orihime ignored the sudden shot of pain in her wrist as she flexed her sprained hand to grab her Shun Shun Rikka and put them in her hair.

"Bye for now!" And with that she was out the door and skipping home.


	12. Chapter 12

bChapter 12

An Angry Quincy, Pt. 2/b

iOrihime ignored the sudden shot of pain in her wrist as she flexed her sprained hand to grab her Shun Shun Rikka and put them in her hair.

"Bye for now!" And with that she was out the door and skipping home.

/i

Ulquiorra sensed his Onna's reiatsu drawing nearer and went to open the door when she approached the door.

"Hi, Ulquiorra-san!" Orihime beamed. He just nodded and stepped aside to let her in before shutting the door behind them.

"Santen Kesshun, I reject!" Orihime called out her Shun Shun Rikka to heal her injured arms.

iFinally! After a day of being a handicap because of my injuries, I can heal myself!/i Orihime shook her head, remembering how she had stupidly forgotten about her powers when she had hurt herself.

It never ceased to amaze Ulquiorra Cifer that a normal human woman could possess the powers that his Onna did. Possibly it was the mysterious air surrounding the powers? Since no one knew exactly how they worked, Ulquiorra was not satisfied with the hypotheses that had already been made. It was obvious his Onna's techniques weren't ordinary healing techniques. Aizen Sosuke had hinted at the possibility of time reversal; but there was an instinct in side of the Cuatro Espada that told him that it was something no one had thought of.

iPerhaps it is this mystery surrounding the Onna, along with the never-ending mystery of the heart, that mystifies me and fascinates me about her,/i Ulquiorra pondered. He watched interestedly as his Onna began to move her arms again, free of pain.

Orihime smiled widely. She was finally able to use her arms again. As she removed the sling around one of her arms and unwrapped the bandages, one at a time, from both of her arms, she glanced up at Ulquiorra and shot him a look that was completely foreign to the Espada.

He couldn't place it, yet the reaction that that simple glance had evoked was more than enough to send him spiraling into thought, wondering why his Onna had looked at him like that.

"What is it?" Orihime watched Ulquiorra stare at her, obviously deep in thought.

That was another disadvantage to the gigai the Espada had gotten from Urahara; Ulquiorra noticed that it was harder to multitask. He could no longer be deep in thought without the Onna noticing. Ulquiorra knew though, that she was the only person with the ability to tell his miniscule facial expressions apart.

While Orihime waited for a reply she doubted would come, she unwrapped the last bandage, the one from the glass cut, and flexed her arms and hands.

iI'd never had thought I'd miss being able to move my arms this much!/i Orihime felt as if she could do two hundred push-ups. Newly energized, she hopped to the kitchen and threw the bandages away, folded the sling up, and set it on the counter.

iI'll have to give that back to Kurosaki-san's dad…/i Orihime's mind wandered to her friend. How much longer was he going to be in that coma-like state? She couldn't help but wonder how he would react to Ulquiorra's being alive, in the World of the Living, and living in Orihime's apartment.

She decided not to concern herself with that just yet as she walked over to her backpack and looked for her homework.

Orihime sighed as she looked at the list of homework in her planner, iMath and Latin…/i

Along with several complex math problems, she had to translate the beginning of a Latin book for class. Orihime didn't dislike Math or Latin, she just wasn't very good at either. Actually, she really liked Latin. Orihime found that it was a very intriguing language and subject. The only problem was that she could never remember her vocabulary words.

Carrying the needed books, a pencil, and several pieces of paper over to the couch, she kneeled on the floor in front of the couch and placed her materials on the coffee table in front of her.

Orihime smiled up at Ulquiorra, who had sad down on the couch while she was in the kitchen removing her bandages and getting her homework. He was nonchalantly watching her, not showing the slightest hint of interest in what she was going to do.

iAbout an hour later…/i

Ulquiorra sighed, "Would you like my assistance, Onna?"

Orihime looked up from her Latin work, eyebrows still knit together in frustration. She hadn't been able to translate the title…

"Wait," Orihime tilted her head, "you speak Latin?"

The Cuatro Espada just nodded. Unknown to the Onna, he spoke not only Japanese and English, but also German, Latin, French, Russian, and Italian. Over the centuries, Ulquiorra had studied many languages, with the goal of stumbling across a piece of literature written in on of those languages that would unravel the mysterious thing humans called a "heart" for him.

Ulquiorra moved himself to sit directly next to his Onna, but still on the couch, and leaned forward to see the portion of the text in her Latin book that Orihime had to translate for homework.

He read in his head…

iRegina et Daemon

In primo tempore, regina, quae forma optima laeto animoque afficiebat, vivebat. Haec tantum aurum, tantum pecuniae habet. Sed non feliciter est.

Quondam in silvam ambulabat, qoud arbores et plantas amabat.

Dum autem pulcherimmam rosam contemplavit, regina de daemonem terribilem abduciebatur.../i

A feeling of irony and unexpected guilt washed over the Cuatro Espada.

Orihime pointed at the line Ulquiorra had just finished reading and said, "I have to translate the story till there."

She sighed.

"Do you want me to translate it, Onna?" Ulquiorra monotonously asked, for some reason driven by his unexpected guilt to help his Onna in any way possible.

"If you don't mind, Ulquiorra-san," Orihime smiled sheepishly at the Espada. She didn't really like other people doing her homework for her, but she was completely lost and confused.

And so Ulquiorra began to speak…

iThe Queen and The Demon

In early time, lived a queen, who was extremely beautiful. This queen had huge amounts of gold and money; but she was not happy.

Once she took a walk in the forest, because she loved the trees and flowers.

But as she was looking at the most beautiful rose, the queen was abducted by a terrible demon…/i

An odd silence settled over Orihime Inoue's living room as Ulquiorra spoke the last word.

Ulquiorra despised his heart at the moment. He despised the guilt he felt, and he despised the urge to reach out and comfort his Onna sitting next to him. These human emotions were only further entangling the term "mysterious" to the concept "heart".

iAfter a millennium of searching, I thought I had found the answer; if so, them why does it seem as if I'm only striding further away from the end, from the answer?/i Ulquiorra struggled to keep his nonchalant mask from cracking even the slightest bit.

"Thanks," Orihime said quietly. Ulquiorra knew that his Onna understood the ironic connection between the story and her (and the Espada's) past.

Orihime quickly scribbled down the translation, oddly able to remember every word exactly the way Ulquiorra has spoken them moments before. Placing the last period, she set her pencil down and let out a breath that had been obviously pent up for a while now.

"Umm…" the Onna stood up and shifted nervously, "Do you want to eat something, Ulquiorra-san?"

Orihime's stomach growled betraying her hunger, making her blush embarrassedly.

"Yes, Onna," the Cuatro Espada simply said, nodding his head once. Orihime rushed off to the kitchen. Ulquiorra didn't fail to see the nervous way she walked; her stride was much different now than from her usual joyful skipping gait.

Several hours later, Orihime Inoue was lying in bed. Ulquiorra had refused to switch sleeping arrangements with her, which would have meant her sleeping on the couch and his sleeping in her bed. Memories and aching thoughts kept racing through her head, making it unable for the orange-haired girl to fall asleep.

Orihime had made another pizza, remembering the obvious delight Ulquiorra found in the simple dish's flavor. Afterwards, she had taken a long bath and changed into her pajamas. Showing the Espada the bath-room and giving him a towel and a change of clothes (Orihime had kept several outfits that had belonged to her late brother, Sora. This outfit consisted of his favorite green sweatpants and a white t-shirt that said "Smile".), Orihime had left him to take a bath himself.

Glancing at the clock, Orihime saw it was 11:30. It was a good hour later that she finally dozed off, eventually falling into a deep sleep.

Long after Orihime had fallen asleep, Ulquiorra Cifer still lay awake, staring at the ceiling of his Onna's living room. He was trying to figure out why the guilty feeling in his chest hadn't gone away since reading the story earlier. The Espada felt the exhaustion from the day pressing down on his mind, but he couldn't fall asleep no matter how much he tried.

Ulquiorra had also been pondering a recent realization for several hours now. He appeared to be about 17 years old, the age of a normal high schooler. The Cuatro Espada was going to have to go to high school… soon.

He internally growled at the stupidity that his heart and gigai brought with them. Ulquiorra was usually composed, confident, and fearless; but at this moment in time, he was nervous about starting school. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't pinpoint the reason for her nervousness.

The Cuatro Espada took a deep breath, commanding himself to return to his normal self, to his nonchalant and fearless self. Finally able to quiet his mind enough to allow the Espada some internal peace, Ulquiorra dozed off some time after 3:00 AM…

Both pairs of eyes snapped open as Orihime Inoue's alarm clock when off at 6:30 AM sharp. Even though Ulquiorra Cifer was now in a gigai, he still had the exceptional hearing of the Espada he was. Sitting up, the Cuatro Espada frowned; sleeping on his Onna's couch wasn't the world's most comfortable thing, and he now had a crick in his neck. He stood up and walked into the kitchen. Since he was a quick learner and had watched Orihime making coffee yesterday, he immediately started a cup of coffee for her (though he had his doubts that he would drink a cup of the brown concoction himself).

A yawn escaped the tired Espada's mouth, making him rethink his idea of not drinking any coffee. He remembered his Onna telling him that coffee helped tired humans wake up and feel more alert when they were tired.

Hearing a shuffling of feet walking down the hallway, Ulquiorra turned and watched as Orihime walked in, sleep still in her eyes, but smiling her usual brilliant smile. It seemed that sleep had worked out the awkward atmosphere between the two ever since Ulquiorra translated Orihime's homework for her.

"Ohayou Gozaimasu, Ulquiorra-san!" Orihime sang, yawning hugely afterwards.

"Good morning, Onna. I have made coffee." Orihime giggled at the stiff way he spoke. She didn't know why, but his monotonous voice seemed humorous to her. Perhaps it was the fact that his tone of voice completely contradicted his current appearance of disheveled hair and wrinkled clothes.

"I have decided to enroll myself in you high school today, Onna. I will accompany you to school and then go to the main office." Orihime blinked. Not only had Ulquiorra spoken more than she had, but he was also going to enroll in school.

"Okay!" She beamed, making Ulquiorra feel something building up in his chest that he had felt several times since he had gained a heart.

When the coffee was finished, Orihime poured herself a cup and added a heap of sugar and milk to it and began stirring it with a spoon. Following suite, the Cuatro Espada took a mug, poured some coffee in it and added just milk. Ulquiorra had decided to experiment with different combinations of the three ingredients.

Taking a sip of the coffee, he found that he preferred these combinations more than his Onna's horrendous-tasting liquid. Downing his cup of coffee in less than a minute, ignoring the slightly too hot drink burning his mouth, he set the mug in the sink like he had seen Orihime do with all of the dishes.

iForty-five minutes later…/i

Orihime rushed into the school building, saying something about how she should have left her apartment earlier, with Ulquiorra following slightly slower.

"Bye, Ulquiorra-san!" Orihime called, waving behind her as she dove into a classroom.

Ulquiorra walked with determination towards the school's main office. Walking into the room, the Espada stood in the back of the room until all of the people waiting in line slowly filtered out of the room as a bell rang, announcing the official beginning of class.

"May I help you?" A woman with short, spiky red hair (who was obviously the secretary) asked, smiling warmly at Ulquiorra.

"Yes, I would like to know what procedures I would need to take to enroll myself in this high school," the woman ignored his emotionless tone and beamed.

"It's not very complicated," she reached under the desk at which she sat and grabbed a stack of paper that must have contained at least 50 pieces of paper. "Just fill these out with the information asked for and return them. Do you want to take them home or fill them out here? Oh! And you'll also need to give me a copy of your birth certificate."

Handing the Espada the paperwork, he replied nonchalantly, "I will take them with me. The papers will be returned by the end of the day."

Without another word, Ulquiorra walked out the door, carrying the huge stack of papers.

"What an odd young man…" the secretary thought, staring at the door. The phone ran, interrupting her train of thought, bringing her back to earth and letting her focus on her job again.

The Cuatro Espada strode through the school hallways, heading to the exit. Suddenly the bathroom door off to his right side swung open.

"You," a black-haired man with glasses hissed. "What the hell are you doing her?"

Ignoring the Quincy, Ulquiorra walked the last few meters to the exit and when he was sure no one would see him, he Sonidoed back to his Onna's apartment.

An angered Ishida Uryuu entered his classroom going back to his seat. He was steaming, making it impossible for him to focus on the rest of the math lesson. When the bell signaling lunch break rang, he followed Orihime to the tree where she, Tatsuki and Chizuru usually ate lunch at.

"Inoue-san, can I talk to you for a minute?" Orihime was slightly puzzled as to why the Quincy was so angry, and nodded.

"What is it Ishida-kun?" she tilted her head.

Uryuu couldn't hold it in and snapped, trying to keep his voice down, "I ran into Ulquiorra Cifer when I went to the bathroom during math. What was he doing in our school?"

The Quincy dreaded the answer he knew was coming.

"He's enrolling himself as a student," Orihime simple stated, wondering where her friend was going with this.

"What was he doing in your house? Why is he living in your apartment?" Ishida couldn't stop the words that slipped out of his mouth next. "That vermin has no right to be your friend."

A split second later, Ishida stumbled back, a stinging red mark on his cheek from where an enraged, offended Orihime had slapped him.

"He's not a vermin and has every right to be my friend! He's living in my apartment because he has nowhere else to stay and I actually pity that!" Orihime stormed off, trying to fight back the tears that had already started running down her cheeks. She didn't stop to grab her lunchbox or explain a thing to Arisawa or Chizuru, who stared after her, concerned.

Ishida Uryuu watched her walk off, shocked that the usually calm Orihime had slapped him, hard.


	13. Chapter 13

bChapter 13

40 Dogs (Like Romeo and Juliet)/b

i"He's not a vermin and has every right to be my friend! He's living in my apartment because he has nowhere else to stay and I actually pity that!" Orihime stormed off, trying to fight back the tears that had already started running down her cheeks. She didn't stop to grab her lunchbox or explain a thing to Arisawa or Chizuru, who stared after her, concerned.

Ishida Uryuu watched her walk off, shocked that the usually calm Orihime had slapped him, hard.

/i

The rest of the school day passes excruciatingly slow. All Orihime could think of was how she had slapped Inside-kun. She felt extremely for slapping him, even though she knew he had deserved it. Every time she replayed what he had said about Ulquiorra-san, she felt a burst of anger flare inside of her.

Tatsuki-chan had brought Orihime's lunchbox to her when the bell rang announcing the end of lunch break. She had searched for several minutes, trying to find her friend. Eventually Arisawa had found Orihime hiding behind a tree in the school yard, crying. Several minutes later, Tatsuki-chan had been able to coax her to come to class, though both of them were ten minutes late. The teacher hadn't asked them why they were late after she saw Orihime's tearstained face.

As childish as it was, Orihime spent the rest of the day staring out the window imagining her running home into Ulquiorra-san's arms. Her common sense told her that the stoic Espada wouldn't like that idea, but her heart was telling her that it didn't matter, that she needed to be able to rant to him and hug him and tell him anything. Remembering the kiss that she and the Cuatro Espada had shared in Hueco Mundo sent butterflies to her stomach.

iHueco Mundo…/i Orihime thought. iIt seems like a dream now…/i

It had only been a couple of days since Orihime had been rescued from Las Noches by her friends, but it seemed like an eternity ago that she had been locked up in her room in Las Noches, wearing her white and black uniform, her only company her now beloved Ulquiorra-san.

As the minutes passed, the minute hand slowly moved closer to 3:00, signaling the end of school. The whole class was sitting on the edge of the chairs, ready to run out the door as soon as the bell rang. Orihime watched the second hand slowly inching its way around the clock for what seemed like the ten thousandth time.

iOne more minute,/i Orihime Inoue was unusually eager to get out of school. Usually she enjoyed class, raising her hand to answer every question.

After an unpleasant visit to the Urahara Shop, Ulquiorra Cifer had filled out every single piece of paper in the stack. He had needed Hat n' Clog's help with several things on the papers. With Urahara's help, the Cuatro Espada had decided on his birthday and forged a birth certificate. With ways unknown to Ulquiorra, Kisuke had successfully created a birth certificate that couldn't be proved fake, making sure to somehow secure the legibility of the piece of paper the secretary at Karakura High had called a "birth certificate".

Now the Cuatro Espada was making his way towards the main office of the High School for the second time that day. Entering the office, he was pleased and relieved to see that there were no other students in the room this time. Walking up to the desk, the secretary nodded and smiled, talking to a concerned parent on the phone.

"Yes, I know your son is-" the secretary was interrupted by the screaming voice of a parent on the other end of the line.

"Sir, I can understand your concerns, but-" again she was interrupted.

"Excuse me sir, but if you have a problem with that, I am not the person to talk to. I will make an appointment for you with the principal and counselor. Good day," she hung up the phone and sighed with relief.

"Oh, hello!" She remembered Ulquiorra was standing in front of the desk. "So you finished filling out the papers?"

The woman was rather surprised that the young man had already filled out all of the paperwork.

"Yes," was his simple reply as she set the huge stack of papers on the desk in front of the secretary.

She skimmed through all of the papers to make sure that everything was filled out appropriately.

"Alright, Ulquiorra-san," she read his named off of the first piece of paper and looked up at the green-eyed Espada, smiling.

"You can start school in the morning. Just go to this room," the secretary handed Ulquiorra a piece of paper, "I will inform the sensei that you will be there."

"Thank you, ma'am," and with that, the Cuatro Espada left the main office. He looked at the piece of paper and read the room number that was written on it. Remembering that his Onna had entered that room this morning, he made his way to his new classroom. Looking at the clock on the wall, he saw that the school day was going to end in less than a minute. Deciding to wait on his Onna, he leaned against the wall outside of the door and waited.

i3… 2… 1…/i Orihime stood up the second before the bell rang, grabbed her things, and was out the door as soon as the bell rang, leaving a surprised sensei in her wake, who had never seen Orihime Inoue so eager to leave school.

Orihime skidded to a halt when she saw who was leaning against the wall in front of her.

"Ulquiorra-san!" Orihime threw her arms around the Cuatro Espada's neck without a second thought.

"Onna," Ulquiorra monotonously said, trying to get her off of him with sheer will power.

Ulquiorra saw Ishida Uryuu walk out of the classroom seconds after his Onna, stop for a split second, send the Espada an exceptionally menacing glare, and walked off without saying a word. The Espada noticed that the young Quincy's right cheek was slightly red and swollen. Chad, Tatsuki, and Chizuru followed the Quincy, worriedly glancing at Orihime and Ulquiorra as they went by.

"Let's go!" Orihime seemed to have forgotten her guilt for slapping her friend for the moment, overjoyed that Ulquiorra-san had been waiting for her outside her classroom. Grabbing his hand she dragged him all the way home. Ulquiorra was visibly displeased that his Onna was being so publicly physical.

iWhat does this Onna feel the need to touch me so?/i Ulquiorra was irritated but couldn't find the "heart" (He internally laughed darkly.) to be angry with Orihime or to tell her to let go of his hand. He didn't admit it to anyone, let alone himself, but there was a fluttering in his stomach whenever his Onna's skin came into contact with his.

Finally, after Orihime had successfully attracted the attention of all the passersby and unlocked her apartment door, she let go of Ulquiorra's hand, only to give him a tight hug.

Ulquiorra sighed, he'd have to learn to become used to his Onna's comfort with physicality.

"Ulquiorra-san," Ulquiorra was slightly shocked to here his Onna's voice break. She was crying.

"What is it, Onna?" Ulquiorra awkwardly placed a hand on her back, trying to be reassuring.

iWhat has my Onna done to me? Every time she is within a proximity to me, she does this to me,/i Ulquiorra narrowed his eyes. What was becoming of the Espada he had been for over a millennium? The same Espada that had ruthlessly killed when ordered to by Aizen Sosuke was no placing a hand on a human's back, trying to comfort the said human. The Cuatro Espada couldn't decide which emotion was more potent at the moment: disgust for becoming weak because of his heart or the longing to comfort the crying Onna hugging him.

"I… I-" a sob escaped her throat. "I slapped Ishida-kun."

Ulquiorra's mind jumped to the black-haired Quincy and he immediately tensed, protective of his Onna and angry at the annoying boy. He knew he should try and comfort Orihime, but Ulquiorra couldn't find the drive to calm down the flame of anger smoldering him from the inside; it was already hard enough for the Espada to keep from openly showing his distaste at the moment.

Orihime knew that Ulquiorra wouldn't respond, so she began trying to explain what had happened. The words began flowing out of her mouth before she realized she was speaking.

"Ishida-kun was being mean and called you a vermin and asked why you were living with me and… and then I… I slapped him," Orihime burst into a new fit of tears as she uttered the last words.

Ulquiorra sighed, frustrated. He couldn't deny the fact that his heart was driving him to want to make his Onna feel better; but he couldn't help but ponder the fact that maybe he would feel the urge to comfort Orihime even if he didn't have a heart. He had, after all, felt some of the urges he felt now before he had obtained a heart. Yes, the feelings and urges had been a tiny droplet of water compared to the ocean they were now, but at times they had been preset.

"Sorry, Ulquiorra-san," Orihime sniffed, loosening her grip on him, realizing that the Espada wasn't exactly comfortable with physical contact. Ulquiorra felt the last brick of that had made up his wall of resolve crumble as he reached out to grab his Onna, who had turned to walk into the kitchen.

Internally promising himself this was the only time he'd let himself become so weak, so vulnerable, so ihuman/i, he pulled Orihime against his chest. Ulquiorra buried his head in her hair, ravishing the flowery smell of it.

Orihime was quite shocked to say the least that her Espada had been the one to initiate the physical contact this time. Wrapping her arms around him as well, she sank into his body, trying to etch the warm feeling into her brain forever.

A quick flutter entered her heart when her mind thought something she would have deemed impossible only a week ago.

iWhat if… I love him?/i Orihime knew it was extremely foolish to think such a thing. But this feeling she had whenever they were alone or even just together, was beyond just ordinary happiness. It was more than she had ever felt for Kurosaki-san. It made Orihime slightly said to think that she no longer loved Kurosaki, but then again, did she ever really love him? He had never shone any feelings towards her. She sighed contently, her mind thinking of possibilities of the future, blushing slightly.

Orihime had no clue that Ulquiorra was thinking along similar lines (or what would be considered "similar", since Ulquiorra knew nothing of how to express his feelings or interpret the new emotions his heart felt).

iThis Onna… my Onna… does she find joy in my company, as I do in hers? But my heart is telling me that this is not ordinary "joy",/i Ulquiorra still felt slightly disgusted by his actions as he tried to decipher the emotions he felt deep within his heart.

Orihime pulled away slightly, stood up on her tiptoes, and leaned her forehead against the Espada's. A slight blush crept onto her cheeks as she smiled at the Espada, gazing into his beautiful green eyes. Ulquiorra Cifer's eyes reminded Orihime of a pine forest.

Ulquiorra felt his heart skip a beat and stared back at his Onna. Trying to ignore the uncomfortable feeling he kept feeling creep into him, he kept his face the same shape of monotonousness he always did, but was unaware that his eyes softened a tiny bit.

Orihime sighed, and closed her eyes. She didn't ever want this feeling to end.

Ulquiorra watched as his Onna's features softened and turned melancholy. A sudden urge to confess to Orihime about what had happened between him and Ishida overtook the Cuatro Espada.

"That Quincy," Ulquiorra forced himself to call his Onna's friend a nicer name than what his mind was screaming, "attacked me two nights ago and once again when I was at the Urahara Shop starting to repay my debt to the shopkeeper yesterday."

Orihime's eyes snapped open, immediately concerned, "So that's why Ishida-kun was absent yesterday!"

Her eyes softened and looked as if she were going to cry again.

Ulquiorra sighed, slightly irritated, iWhy does my Onna feel the need to cry at the smallest of things?/i

A feeling that had been simmering in his chest for the past two days finally broke free. Surprising even himself, Ulquiorra leaned down to press his lips to Orihime's. Orihime widened her eyes a fraction of an inch before closing them slowly, and leaning into Ulquiorra's kiss.

She could treasure this moment forever, she thought. A thought ran through her mind, leaving a permanent trail behind: what if she could feel the way she did not for the rest of her life, and even in the next life? Orihime Inoue was content. She loved the feel of the Espada's lips on hers. She loved the color of his deep green eyes, the unique smell of his skin.

Ulquiorra, as expected, broke the kiss too soon, just seconds after pressing his lips to Orihime's. The Cuatro Espada was ashamed of his all too human actions, but that shame was washed away by a wave of an unknown emotion. Subconsciously, a piece of the puzzle fell into place, unknowingly opening Ulquiorra's path to something the humans referred to as "love".

Both of the two thought that even if the world were to end, if they were to drown in a sudden flood, or if a meteor were to strike, they would survive. If all else were annihilated, Orihime Inoue and Ulquiorra Cifer would go on somehow.

The sudden ringing off the doorbell interrupted the moment, making Orihime walk to the door and answered it. Outside stood a man dressed in a dry cleaner's uniform that read "We repair and clean your clothes" who handed her a zipped up dress bag and a clipboard for her to sign.

"Thank you! Have a good day!" Orihime called after the man and then shut the door. Excitedly, Orihime ran to the kitchen to open the dress bag. Less than a minute later, Orihime was squealing, pulling the content out. Ulquiorra, who had walked into the kitchen after his Onna, stood a couple of feet away and uninterestedly leaned against the wall.

Orihime danced around the kitchen, holding the piece of clothing that had been inside the box, to her. To Ulquiorra's surprise, Orihime was holding her Hueco Mundo outfit to her body. The torn fabric was whole again and dirt stains were gone; it was like new.

After Orihime had cleaned up the dress, she had set out back to the kitchen to make some ramen. It had been a while since she made ramen, but she remembered exactly how to do it.

Several minutes later, after having set out all of the ingredients, she was kneading an extremely sticky dough on the counter top.

"Shoot!" Orihime furrowed her eyebrows. "I didn't use enough flour."

Ulquiorra watched, slightly amused, from a distance as his Onna covered herself and everything within a 3 foot radius with the sticky, tan-ish dough.

"Ulquiorra-san," Orihime turned her head to pleadingly stare at the Espada. "Can you reach in the cupboard above your head and get the all purpose flour out?"

iSeveral hours later… /i

"Mmhhh!" Orihime cooed as she took a bite of the freshly made ramen. The Cuatro Espada sat across the small table from his Onna and took a bite of the noodles.

Letting the flavor spread across his tongue, he observed that he found the ramen tasted good, but not as good as the pizza (which he preferred over every other food).

After the two of them had finished the entire pot of ramen, Orihime put all of the dirty dishes in the dishwasher and turned it on.

Then it finally hit her…

"It's Friday!" Orihime squealed. Ulquiorra restrained himself from rolling his eyes at his Onna's obvious observation. Orihime glanced at the clock.

"Oh no! I'm going to miss the movie!" Grabbing the Cuatro Espada's hand for the second time that day (this time earning less disdain from said Espada), Orihime pulled him from the kitchen into her living room to the couch.

Before Ulquiorra was even sitting, Orihime had grabbed the remote and was flipping through the channels, searching for the right one.

"Here it is!" Ulquiorra stared at his woman, slightly concerned for her mental health.

When the two were both situated, Ulquiorra sitting upright on one corner of the couch and Orihime leaning against him with her legs next to her, the Espada turned his attention to the television.

After the last commercial ended, which advertised some kind of "in-style" electric candle-like contraption, the opening credits rolled across the screen.

As soon as he saw the name of the movie, he knew it was going to be a long night.

iThe Notebook

Based off of the novel by Nicholas Sparks/i

It seemed like every time that Ulquiorra was close to dozing off, Orihime would awe or giggled at something else that was happening in the movie like a three year old.

Finally, well after midnight, Orihime fell asleep. Ulquiorra watched his Onna sleep for a while, a content feeling filling up his chest, before he placed an arm around her shoulders and fell asleep as well…


	14. Chapter 14

bChapter 14

Walkin' On Sunshine Pt. 1/b

iIt seemed like every time that Ulquiorra was close to dozing off, Orihime would awe or giggled at something else that was happening in the movie like a three year old.

Finally, well after midnight, Orihime fell asleep. Ulquiorra watched his Onna sleep for a while, a content feeling filling up his chest, before he placed an arm around her shoulders and fell asleep as well…

/i

Orihime's eyes slowly blinked open. The first thing she noticed was that she wasn't in her bed, and that she had her head rested against someone's shoulder. A few seconds later, the previous night slowly came back to her. Blushing slightly, she remembered all the details of the kiss she had shared with Ulquiorra.

Sighing contently, she felt the arm draped around her rubbing gentle circles against her shoulder.

"So you have awoken, Onna," the Cuatro Espada spoke. Orihime smiled sweetly at the slight change in his monotonous voice. Turning her head to look at him, she could have sworn she saw an unknown light dancing through his eyes.

"Good morning, Ulquiorra-san," Orihime yawned. She was content, she would treasure this moment forever. The girl blushed, realizing how it would sound like to her friends if she told them Monday in school about how she woke up with a man's arm wrapped around her shoulders Saturday morning.

Orihime's smile grew a little bigger as she saw the disheveled black hair on Ulquiorra's head. Unconsciously, she reached one of her hands up and tried straightening the mess of hair.

Ulquiorra tried not to show his surprise and slight discomfort with the current situation. He had never been used to gentle, caressing touches. All he had known less than a month ago were the sharp, painful sensations of blades and punches colliding with his skin. His aversion to any type of physical contact was the instinctual reactions born from those painful sensations.

Trying to ignore the distasteful feeling crawling on his skin, he concentrated on the warm sensation of his Onna fixing his hair and leaning against his shoulder. If someone had told him a month ago that he would be sitting on a human's couch, with the said human lying on him, he wouldn't have believed a single word of it.

He knew it would be extremely difficult for him to become used to his Onna's touch and comfort with physical contact. The Cuatro Espada also knew it was unavoidable to have some form of physical contact with his Onna, since he knew that she felt something towards him as he did towards her.

After deciding that her Espada's hair was a lost cause without a good hairbrush or shower, she started stretching, feeling the kinks in her neck and back from sleeping on the couch.

"What do you want to do today, Ulquiorra-san?" Orihime asked, another yawn muffling the Espada's name.

The Espada looked at his Onna, slightly confused.

"I do not know, Onna," he simple replied. What did his Onna want for him to say? He hadn't thought that the two of them would be doing anything out of the ordinary. But what exactly was "out of the ordinary" for his Onna? Knowing her joyous personality made him slightly doubt he would enjoy whatever plans she would conjure up for the day.

"Hmm…" Orihime thought about what she had to do this weekend. "Well, I need to go grocery shopping... and you'll need some more clothes since you're going to stay…"

Ulquiorra Cifer was already not looking forward to the day. He had no clue what actions grocery shopping of clothes shopping included, but guessing from the knowledge he had, it sounded like something he would come to despise.

With a sudden burst of energy, Orihime Inoue leaped off the couch. After doing several thorough stretches, she jogged into the kitchen to eat some breakfast.

"Do you want some cereal, Ulquiorra-san?" she half-sang, half-called from the kitchen.

"Yes, Onna," Ulquiorra had no clue what cereal tasted like, but kept himself open-minded enough to not discriminate foods he had never tasted.

Taking out two bowls from the cupboard above the counter and setting them on the counter, Orihime opened the refrigerator and took out a carton of milk.

Opening another cupboard, this one filled with food, she placed a finger on her lips an pondered what brand of cereal she wanted.

"Ulquiorra-san, what kind of cereal do you want?" Ulquiorra Sonidoed into the kitchen to figure out what his Onna was talking about.

"I do not care," was his simple reply when he saw the huge cupboard filled with boxes with various labels, such as "Cookie Crisps" and "Reese's Puffs".

Orihime grabbed the box of Reese's Puffs and poured some in the two bowls on the counter. Reaching for the milk, she accidently knocked it off the counter. Luckily, with his cat-like reflexes, Ulquiorra grabbed the carton before it hit the floor.

"Thanks, Ulquiorra-san!" Orihime chimed, smiling at the Cuatro Espada, who simply nodded.

After the couple had eaten their breakfast, Orihime ran into her room, dragging Ulquiorra behind her. Opening her huge walk-in closet (which was only half full), she continued to drag the slightly dismayed Espada behind her until they reached the very back of the closet. Standing on her tip toes to pull the light string to turn it on, she sighed in frustration. She was never able to reach it. As Orihime tried to jump for it, she was surprised to feel two hands suddenly on her hips, helping her reach the light.

"Thanks," Orihime blushed. As was normal, Ulquiorra just nodded.

Dropping to the floor, Orihime pulled out a box from below the bottom shelf. The box was filled with various articles of clothing, varying from pajamas to dress clothes. Digging through the box, Orihime smiled joyfully when she found what she was looking for.

Ulquiorra watched his Onna as she pulled out a pair of dark blue jeans and a green t-shirt. Shoving them in his hands, she beamed and dragged him out of the closet. (Ulquiorra was slowly but surely getting annoyed with his Onna dragging him everywhere. Little did he know that that would be exactly what she would be doing the entire day…)

Having changed into the clothes Orihime had given him, Ulquiorra now sat on the couch in the living room waiting for his Onna to finish changing out of her pajamas herself. As he sat there, he pondered some things that had interested him in some form or fashion since coming to live with Orihime from Hueco Mundo.

Why did she blush whenever he touched her? She never blushed when she was pulling him along behind her… so why had she turned tomato-red when he had kissed her?

He slightly chided himself for sinking to the level of a measly human and showing his affection for a human woman? But then again, he couldn't compare his actions to that of anyone else, since no other Espada had obtained a heart as he had. Ulquiorra also couldn't compare his actions to the way he had previously acted, only a month or so ago. Then he had been a cold, stoic, unfeeling Espada; now he felt new things every day.

It was common sense that he would react differently now that he had a heart.

During his quest to solve the mystery of the heart, the Cuatro Espada had noticed several things. For one, he knew a heart changed people's reactions and instinctual thoughts. Also, even though a heart changed said things, it did not change one's basic ways. Another important point he had discovered in his search, was that no two hearts reacted alike, making it impossible for two hearts to understand one another perfectly (or so it seemed to him).

Ulquiorra's thoughts were interrupted by the sound of his Onna skipping down the hall towards him.

"Okay, we can go!" Orihime beamed as she came around the corner into sight.

Ulquiorra knew that it was extremely human and probably immature for him to do so, but he couldn't help but think that she looked absolutely stunning.

Part of his Onna's orange hair was pulled back while the rest of it was free to cascade down her shoulders and back, reflecting the light. She was wearing a yellow sundress that came to her knees and had a wide, loose bottom. The dress was pretty modestly cut, revealing only her collarbones, shoulders, and arms. It hugged her curves in just the right way, the bright color slightly reducing the size of her bust; the flowing skirt hiding her extra-curvy hips.

"Your appearance is one of beauty, Onna," Ulquiorra couldn't believe his own words. Yes, he had really sunken to the levels of a human. The Espada decided it must be the gigai's fault, and set his mind on going to see Urahara Kisuke sometime (extremely soon) to try and fix this.

Orihime blushed ten shades of rouge. Had he really just called her pretty? Yes… it had been in his own way, but he had said it.

Skipping the last couple of yards towards her Espada, she leaned up on her tiptoes and pressed a quick kiss to his cheek before grabbing his hand and pulling him towards the door, careful not to forget her purse in the process.

The Cuatro Espada sighed. It was going to be a long day.

"Ooh!" Orihime grabbed what seemed like the thousandth can or bag of food and somehow crammed it into the already overfilled shopping cart. How much more was this Onna going to buy?

Ulquiorra sighed. He had no clue what half of the things in the cart were, and was pretty sure he didn't want to know what most of it was. As Orihime crammed another can of red bean paste into the cart, Ulquiorra noticed several boys his Onna's age watching her intently.

"Onna," Ulquiorra quietly caught his Onna's attention, who had just bent over to pick up a can she dropped, making her dress ride dangerously high on the back of her upper thighs. Blushing, she quickly picked up the can, stood up and straightened the back of her dress, not noticing the four boys snickering.

The Espada sent a strikingly menacing glare at the boys, who only made faces back at him, daring him to do something. Which he did. Leaving the cart and his Onna, he walked over to the group of teenagers. Orihime turned to see what he was doing and tilted her head, wondering why he was talking to the group of boys.

"I advise you to leave this store if you enjoy your eye's ability to see," Ulquiorra monotonously threatened. He would not stand for these immature boys' hormonally driven desires and pleasures.

"Oooh, I'm so scared," one of them mocked. The rest of the group laughed.

"Do not mock me, boy," The Cuatro Espada was becoming more agitated by the second.

"Ulquiorra-san?" Orihime skipped over, not noticing the eyes of the boys greedily taking in her body and the way it moved as she skipped.

"What is it, Onna?" Ulquiorra did not take his eyes off of the boys as he stepped in front of Orihime, blocking their view of her.

"What are you going to do about it?" The tallest in the group sneered.

"Onna, go back to the cart," Orihime quizzically looked from her Espada to the group of boys. Noticing the strange gleam in his eyes, she nodded and skipped back to the cart, half-heartedly this time.

"Onna?" another one of the boys jeered. Without warning, the tall one launched a punch at Ulquiorra. As he caught the boy's fist in his bare hand, he restrained himself from snapping his wrist in two.

"It is a thousand years to soon for you to be fighting me," Ulquiorra half growled.

The group looked at him as if he were insane and laughed at him. In their fits of laughter, Ulquiorra turned on his heal and started striding back to his Onna, who had gone back to loading up the food cart.

"Hey, wait! We're not finished with you!" another one of the boys called, tauntingly. Ulquiorra ignored this and kept walking.

As one of the boy's patience snapped, he charged at the Espada, who easily side-stepped the punch the boy threw.

Surprised, the boy skidded to a halt, tripping and colliding with Orihime.

"Ahh!" she screamed as the boy rammed into her, knocking the two of them to the ground.

"Leave," Ulquiorra growled, visibly perturbed.

"Well, hello there," the boy grinned at Orihime. Orihime shifted, trying to get the boy off of her.

"Umm.. hi. Can you please get off of me?" She asked, trying to get out from underneath him.

"Hmm?" the boy asked as if he had not heard her.

"You heard the Onna. Get off of her." Unspoken threats hung in the air. When the boy didn't move an inch and Orihime become visibly more uncomfortable, Ulquiorra took matters in his own hands. Walking over to the boy, he grabbed him by the collar, pulled him off of his Onna and flung him down the aisle several feet.

"Let us leave, Onna," without another word, Ulquiorra grabbed his Onna's hand (to her surprise) and began pushing the cart down the aisle away from the furious group of boys.

Orihime could sense the anger and protective air radiating off of Ulquiorra. Putting two and two together, she realized exactly what had happened.

iOh…/i Orihime mentally chided herself for being so oblivious.

"Thanks, Ulquiorra-san," she quietly said, ashamed of her naivety. The Cuatro Espada simply nodded.

The couple waited in line at the register in silence before Orihime paid for her groceries. Afterwards, they walked home at a comfortable pace, Orihime eager to put up the groceries and go clothes shopping for Ulquiorra, and Ulquiorra being dragged along behind the Onna; both of them carried too many grocery bags. As they walked, Orihime began to hum a happy tune...


	15. Chapter 15

bChapter 15

Walkin' on Sunshine Pt. 2/b

i The couple waited in line at the register in silence before Orihime paid for her groceries. Afterwards, they walked home at a comfortable pace, Orihime eager to put up the groceries and go clothes shopping for Ulquiorra, and Ulquiorra being dragged along behind the Onna; both of them carried too many grocery bags. As they walked, Orihime began to hum a happy tune...

/i

After having dropped off the groceries at Orihime's apartment, Ulquiorra and Orihime made their way to the nearest shopping center. The Espada was glad that the latter had decided not to drag him along behind her as they walked.

That didn't last long…

"Ooh!" Orihime's eyes widened, longingly looking in the clothing store they were walking by. "Let's go in!"

Without waiting for a reply from Ulquiorra, she grabbed his hand and dragged him into the store.

Orihime stayed nearly oblivious to the Espada, only asking him what he thought of a shirt or a dress whenever she found a new article of clothing to squeal about. Deciding to take a break from the mentally exhausting task of "helping" (watching) his Onna clothes shopping, he sat down on a bench in the store several feet from her.

iWhy have I agreed to endure such torture?/i Ulquiorra was already psychologically exhausted. As he thought about how he had gotten himself (literally) dragged into this mess, he came to one conclusion: his heart. It was his heart that forbade him, in a sense, to do anything that would upset his Onna. Ulquiorra Cifer couldn't believe that a heart could be strong enough to chain him down so much. Of course it wasn't like he had to obey what his heart was telling him was "right"; the Espada just didn't like the feeling of guilt he felt every time his Onna wasn't smiling her brilliant smile.

His thoughts were interrupted by a couple that was walking by him. They were holding hands and swinging their arms back and forth. Each of the two had a huge smile on their face and couldn't seem to stop laughing at something. Ulquiorra stared after them as they headed to the other end of the store.

"What is it, Ulquiorra-san?" Orihime skipped to stand in front of him and stood on her tip toes trying to see what he had been looking at. Staring up at his Onna from the bench, he thought about the strange feeling in side of him. It was similar to jealously, but not nearly as potent. There was a hint of sadness present along with a strange urge.

Deciding that her Espada wouldn't answer, she plopped down on the bench beside him (holding an unknown number of dresses). Leaning her head back and to the side to rest it on the back of the bench and Ulquiorra's shoulder, she sighed contently. Several minutes later, Orihime broke the comfortable silence that had fallen over the two.

"Let's go pay!" Jumping up, Orihime struggled trying to carry all of the dresses she had picked out. Quirking his eyebrow the tiniest fraction of an inch, Ulquiorra wondered how his Onna could afford to buy so many clothes.

Ulquiorra looked visibly annoyed. His Onna had asked him if he would be so kind as to help her carry her bags, which were heavy and filled with clothes that she had bought for herself in the last ten or so stores. (Somewhere after seven, Ulquiorra had stopped caring and lost track.)

Finally, after what seemed like a century of walking and shopping for "Onna clothes", Orihime jumped.

"We're here!" Ulquiorra hadn't even known that they had been heading to a specific destination. Looking at the huge store in front of the couple, Ulquiorra observed that his store was different from all the other ones they had been in before. There were no frilly pink posters advertising sales, no bright girly colors plastering the walls both inside and outside of the store. This was a men's store.

An unexpected wave of relief hit Ulquiorra. No more waiting in endlessly long lines of chattering teenage girls, no more having to tell his Onna if a dress suited her or not (Ulquiorra would never understand why his Onna asked him if he like a dress. He could care less what she wore.) …

The sun was nearing the horizon in the west, alerting both Ulquiorra and Orihime that they had spent nearly all day shopping.

"At least the shops are open till 10:00 PM!" Orihime beamed and Ulquiorra (almost) frowned.

It was 10:30 PM and the pair was slowly making their way home, struggling with the weight of the numerous shopping bags. Orihime had wanted to get a taxi, but realized that she had spent all of the money she had with her on the all-day shopping spree. Ulquiorra kept a stoic expression and tried his best not to sag under the weight of the bags he was carrying.

iCurse this gigai… It limits my physical strength, yet allows me to Sonido at will and retains my Espada-like senses. It seems that Urahara Kisuke is not as thorough as I have heard,/i Ulquiorra kept himself busy pondering everything, wondering about everything from why his Onna found pleasure in exerting all her energy to buy clothing to why his gigai felt like a sheet of slime and goo covering every inch of him.

"Finally," Orihime whispered as she mustered the strength to run up to the door of her apartment. As she went to unlock the doors, she suddenly felt one of Ulquiorra's hands on her shoulder.

Turning to see why the Cuatro Espada had touched her, Orihime's face turned serious when she saw a strange glimmer in his eyes.

"Wha-"

"Someone with a reasonable amount of reiatsu has been here," Ulquiorra answered before his Onna could completely form her question. Orihime's eyes widened as she set her bags down on the bottom step in front of her apartment.

"Who?" Who could possibly visit her apartment? Kurosaki-san was still in his coma-like state and all of her Shinigami friends were back in Soul Society…

"I do not know. Stay here," A split second later, Ulquiorra Cifer's gigai fell to the ground lifelessly. Standing next to the fallen skin stood the Espada. He looked just like he did in Hueco Mundo: white and black uniform, tear marks, hollow mask.

"You're back to normal!" Orihime beamed, seemingly forgetting the current situation for a moment. Not giving his Onna any signs that he had heard her, he walked closer to the door trying to figure out exactly who had visited her apartment.

iAn hour or so ago, in a house across town…/i

Ishida Uryuu's head snapped up. He had been diligently reading a rather interesting book when he suddenly felt a huge reiatsu pop up out of no where on the other side of Karakura Town. He immediately recognized the reiatsu and used his version of Shunpo to arrive at the origin of the reiatsu within seconds.

The only thing he saw when he got there, noticing that he was in front of Orihime's apartment, was a blur as the figures disappeared.

Ishida's eyes widened. Several black uniforms and one white and black uniform. He had no doubt in mind what kind of people the figures had been.

iAnd back to the "normal" time…/i

"Shinigami," was Ulquiorra's simple reply.

"Shinigami? But why!"

iWhy would Shinigami from Soul Society, and powerful ones at that guess from the reiatsu, come to the World of the Living to see me?/i Orihime tired to think of a plausible explanation, but none came to mind.

"They had left. It is safe to enter the building." Orihime almost giggled at the way Ulquiorra said it, but suppressed it. Little did she know that Ulquiorra had his suspicions as to why Soul Society wanted to visit his Onna. And he wasn't very far off the target…

iMeanwhile, in Soul Society…/i

"What have you found out about the Cuatro Espada?" Head Captain Yamamoto asked the two captains in front of him.

"My stealth forces have confirmed the reiatsus in the apartment. They belong to the human, Orihime Inoue, and the Cuatro Espada of Aizen Sosuke's army, Ulquiorra Cifer," one of the captains explained.

"That was one hell of a waste of time!" the other captain complained. "I wish that damn Espada would have been there… That'd have been the fight of my life!"

A demonic smile spread across the captain's face.

"Very well," Yamamoto ignored the comments of the latter captain. "I will decide our next moves and call a captain's meeting when I have come to a decision concerning this matter. You are dismissed."


	16. Chapter 16

bChapter 16

/b

i"My stealth forces have confirmed the reiatsus in the apartment. They belong to the human, Orihime Inoue, and the Cuatro Espada of Aizen Sosuke's army, Ulquiorra Cifer," one of the captains explained.

"That was one hell of a waste of time!" the other captain complained. "I wish that damn Espada would have been there… That'd have been the fight of my life!"

A demonic smile spread across the captain's face.

"Very well," Yamamoto ignored the comments of the latter captain. "I will decide our next moves and call a captain's meeting when I have come to a decision concerning this matter. You are dismissed."

/i

Several days after the final battle against Aizen Sosuke, Kurosaki Ichigo continued to lay motionless in his coma-like state of being…

iEverything is black. This place is a huge empty void. My mind is a huge empty void. There's no sound, no light, no life. My energy is quickly draining, I can't breathe. It feels as if I'm going to suffocate from the sheer power of the darkness.

Wait… what's that? There's a crack of light… a rush of air! But my strength, my power, it only seems to drain from me faster, now seeping out of the crack in this darkness. What is happening to me?/i

Kuchiki Rukia and Kurosaki Isshin watched Ichigo, worried. How long was it going to take him to wake up?

"Pfew!" Orihime breathed. She had finally finished cleaning up the groceries she had bought that morning and cut the tags off of all the clothes before sticking them in the washer. It was only then that she realized that strange mood that was radiating off of the Ulquiorra Cifer.

Orihime Inoue had always been good at reading people's emotions, even the stoic Cuatro Espada's; but this emotion was so confused, so… pained, that Orihime couldn't figure it out.

iWhat is this pain? This anger? This hatred? This confusion for feeling all of this at once and for a reason I do not fathom, nor do I think I could fathom at the moment?/i the Espada sat on his Onna's couch pondering his emotions and trying to convince himself that the Shinigami hadn't visited the very apartment he was sitting in just hours ago. The intelligent green-eyed arrancar had already come up with several highly possibly theories as to why the said people would visit, but his heart refused to accept the consequences that both Ulquiorra and his heart knew would come, extremely soon.

Orihime frowned for a split second before smiling enormously and skipping over to lay against Ulquiorra with her arms wrapped around his torso on the couch. She sighed contently, forgetting the Espada's strange mood.

iWhat is my Onna doing?/i No matter how many times Orihime touched him, Ulquiorra always felt the same jolt of electricity in his chest. It was almost as if she had jump started his heart…

How many more times was it going to take him to get used to this? How many more times was he going to make his Onna wait for a simple hug to come naturally? Ulquiorra Cifer knew it was his duty now to not only protect his Onna, but also to take care of her and give her everything she wanted. If she wanted a hug, then so be it.

An image of the couple that had passed by him while shopping flashed through his mind as he secretly vowed to himself that he would do nothing but make this Onna happy, if it cost him his life.

But… was he now truly human? Was he like his Onna, like the Quincy, like Sado Yasutora? Was the Cuatro Espada no longer the Cuatro Espada, but instead a human with superhuman powers?

These thoughts utterly disgusted Ulquiorra, but he couldn't get the strange feeling out of his heart that he had felt when he saw the couple holding hands…

Consciously knowing it was illogical to succumb to his human "half", he wrapped his arm around his Onna, who sighed and slumped against him comfortably.

Ulquiorra knew he only acted this way around his Onna… He knew that she was the only reason he was human. He did not hate her for it, nor did he regret becoming human, as strange as that sounded to him.

Out of the ruins of the wall Orihime had destroyed singlehandedly, the Espada began to build a new wall, one out of an indestructible resolve to protect and give everything for her.

Ulquiorra Cifer was slowly tasting the rich savory flavor of what humans referred to as "love".

Several hours later, Orihime nearly began to fall asleep. Ulquiorra saw this, and wanting to provide as much comfort for his Onna as possible, gently picked her up, like a porcelain doll that would break if he held her to roughly, and carried her to her bedroom. Setting Orihime down on one side of the rather large, queen-sized bed, Ulquiorra pulled the sheets back, picked up his Onna once more, and placed her carefully under the sheets. He turned to walk out of the room.

As the Espada's hand reached the light switch and flicked it off, he froze when he heard Orihime's voice call out to him.

"Don't leave," there was a painful expression in her sleepy eyes that shot him to the core as Ulquiorra turned to look at her.

iWhy would my Onna want me to stay?/i Ulquiorra would never grasp or fathom why Orihime had fallen for him.

"Please," she whispered again, more painfully than the first time. "Don't go…"

Ulquiorra could bring himself to leave. His heart was on a chain which was in the hands of the Onna who was so pleadingly pulling him towards her, like an inescapable black hole. The Espada didn't even feel his feet move as he walked back towards the Onna's side, taking a seat on the edge of the bed.

Orihime's next move would have surprised even her if he hadn't been half asleep. She gently tugged at Ulquiorra's torso, wanting so desperately just to hold him like a giant, breathing teddy bear.

Slightly surprised by the boldness of his Onna, Ulquiorra complied, continuously building his new wall of resolve brick by brick. How long was it going to take for this wall to be complete?

Stiffly, he laid down next to Orihime with his back on the mattress and facing the ceiling. Letting out a sigh he didn't know he had kept pent up, he slowly relaxed into his Onna's embrace.

There was an all too familiar butterfly sensation in Ulquiorra's stomach; the Espada half of him was utterly disgusted by it, while the now-human half of him wanted to feel those butterflies for the rest of eternity.

Ulquiorra Cifer knew all too well that he was becoming human. He was becoming weak, emotional human trash. For some reason that thought didn't bother the Espada as much as it should have as he drifted off to sleep embracing his Onna…

iIt's the same darkness as before. There's absolutely nothing here… Why am I here again? What happened to the brilliant light that flashed across the sky for a mere second? Wait… there it is again! The light, the life, the colors… they're all coming back! But why is it traveling further away? I'm being dragged by the darkness that consumes this place.

Let go of me! I need to get to the light so I too can have color and light and life in this meaningless existence! Don't drag me away…/i

Ulquiorra woke with a start. It was only several seconds later that he realized that Orihime had been trying to shake him awake. He looked into his Onna's concerned eyes, trying to figure out why she had been trying to wake him. Then he noticed the tears in her eyes and on her cheeks.

"Ulquiorra-san," relief spread across her face as she buried her tear stained face in the Espada's chest.

"What is it, Onna?" Ulquiorra was becoming used to humans' habits of curiosity and caring.

"I… I," new sobs interrupted what Orihime was trying to tell the Cuatro Espada.

Ulquiorra knew he was supposed to comfort his Onna; that was part of his new resolve after all. But how was he supposed to comfort when all he had known just a month ago was stoicism and hatred? Trying to mimic what he had seen his Onna do several times to try and comfort her friends after a battle, he wrapped his arms around her and held her against his chest, letting her cry it out.

After what seemed like hours, Orihime's breathing he returned to normal, and the tears had stopped streaming like a waterfall. Taking a deep breath, she found the strength to explain what had had her so upset.

"I had a dream," she began, keeping her head nestled against the Espada's chest. "I had a dream that… that I was the only light and color in an empty void of darkness. But I didn't mind… because I… I loved the darkness. But then the darkness was being pulled away from me, and I couldn't tell if it was my fault, if my light and color were seeping into the darkness and tainting it, or if it was being stolen from the void by and unseen force…"

Ulquiorra listened and didn't bother to hide his shock.

iMy Onna had the same dream as I, except she saw things out of a different perspective. While I observed things from the darkness, she saw things from the light.

What is the meaning behind this?/i Ulquiorra's mind was racing. Perhaps it had something to do with the Shinigami who had visited the apartment yesterday?

At the thought of the Shinigami, the Espada was wide awake and alert as ever. What if the enemy had decided to make their move while he and the Onna were sleeping? Ulquiorra frantically searched every last inch of Karakura Town for Shinigami reiatsu. It took less than a minute for the Cuatro Espada to confirm that the only Shinigami reiatsus in the area were Urahara Kisuke, Kurosaki Ichigo, Kurosaki Isshin, and Kurumadani Zennosuke (Note to Readers: You'll probably know him as "Afro-san".). Breathing a sigh of relief, he focused back on his Onna who was still in his arms.

"What is it, Ulquiorra-san?" Orihime didn't miss a single mood change, did she? Ulquiorra couldn't understand a single thing about his Onna.

"Your dream was similar to mine, that is all. I am certain there is no significance behind it," Ulquiorra easily lied, deceiving his Onna. It hurt him to lie for some odd reason; he had been able to lie without a second thought for centuries, so why did he feel this guilt now?

Sighing, Orihime Inoue, who, as always, was naïve and gullible, believed Ulquiorra and took comfort in his simple lie.

"Ulquiorra-san?" Orihime look the Espada in the eye. She never ceased to marvel the beautiful green color of his eyes.

"Yes, Onna?" Ulquiorra snapped his attention back to her.

"Do you want some breakfast?" Orihime's stomach growling gave away her own hunger.

"Yes," was Ulquiorra's simple reply.

iMy Onna eats tremendous portions, yet her stomach always seems to be making strange noises…/i Ulquiorra was slightly amused at the huge appetite Orihime possessed.

iMeanwhile in Soul Society…/i

"Let us begin," Head Captain Yamamoto Genryuusai had called a Captains' Meeting to inform the Gotei 13 about his decision regarding Ulquiorra Cifer in the World of the Living.

The twelve captains watched the head captain, anxiously awaiting the elder's decision.

"As many of you have heard, the Cuatro Espada is currently living in the World of the Living with the human, Orihime Inoue," several gasps and murmurs went through the line of captains. Why would Inoue-san be allowing the enemy to sleep under her roof?

"Silence," Yamamoto commanded. "I have come to a decision regarding this matter. I will send several of you, the Stealth Forces, and some of the vice-captains to the World of the Living to capture the Espada and bring him back. He is to be kept alive. Anyone who objects to this will be considered an enemy and treated as one."

Several of the captains who closely knew Orihime Inoue exchanged anxious and worried glances. What had the human girl gotten herself into?

"The captains Kuchiki Byakuya, Kyoraku Shunsui, Ukitake Jushiro, Soi Fon, and Hitsugaya Toushiro, along with the vice-captains Abarai Renji and Hisagi Shuhei will be part of the special unit being sent to capture Ulquiorra Cifer, the Cuatro Espada," the captains were shocked at the large number of captain- and vice-captain-class Shinigami being sent out.

"The special unit will leave in 48 hours, when the human, Orihime Inoue, is in school and won't be able to cause any trouble concerning Ulquiorra Cifer's capture. That is all."

The captains bowed and began making their way out of the meeting room, some of them going to inform their vice-captain that they will be part of the special unit sent out, some of them talking amongst one another.

iBack in Karakura Town…/i

"That was delicious!" Orihime purred. She had just finished eating what seemed like her millionth bowl of ramen. (Of course it was homemade ramen… meaning there had been unusual combinations swimming around in the bowl. Alongside the normal Chinese cabbage, Orihime had added carrots, potatoes, tomatoes, chocolate ice cream, and rice. Poor Ulquiorra didn't know that his Onna's food was considered "unusual" in the human world, and ate every single bite out of his bowl.)

It was then that the girl realized what time it was.

"It's only 6:00 AM!" Orihime exclaimed. Had she really woken up so early?

The door bell prevented Orihime from pondering the time, so she jumped up and skipped to the door.

"Tatsuki-chan!" Orihime exclaimed, hugging her friend.

"Good morning, Inoue-chan," Tatsuki smiled at the buoyant girl in front of her. "I was just out on my morning jog and noticed the light was on so I decided to drop by… did I interrupt something?"

Tatsuki glanced nervously around Orihime to see Ulquiorra sitting at the kitchen table, sipping coffee and nonchalantly watching the two girls.

"Oh no!" Orihime smiled. "We just finished breakfast."

"Oh okay…" Tatsuki turned her attention back to her friend. "I was wondering if you wanted to come to the Karate Dojo with me later."

"Sure!" Orihime chimed. "What time?"

"How about 11:00?"

"Sure!"

"Alright, see you then! Bye!" Tatsuki waved and jogged off down the street.

iAnd back in Soul Society…/i

Emergency Hell's Butterflies were sent off to all of the members of the special unit.

iAll special unit members are to meet at the Senkai Gate in 5 hours sharp. The scheduled time has been changed./i

Kurotsuchi-taichou grinned maniacally. Oh how he loved his "spying" equipment…


	17. Chapter 17

bChapter 17

Slipped Away, Pt. 1/b

i Emergency Hell's Butterflies were sent off to all of the members of the special unit.

"All special unit members are to meet at the Senkai Gate in 5 hours sharp. The scheduled time has been changed."

Kurotsuchi-taichou grinned maniacally. Oh how he loved his "spying" equipment…/i

Orihime Inoue was feeling extremely uneasy about going to the dojo with Tatsuki. Well, uneasy was an understatement. She felt as if there were some terrible impending disaster that was going to be unleashed like a caged beast the second she walked out the door. But then again, Orihime had always been one to imagine the strangest things. Like the time she had tried to convince Ishida-kun that aliens had abducted her stuffed teddy bear, experimenting on it and ripping its seams open in the process…

She sighed. Why was her overactive imagination deciding to bug her now?

iMaybe it's because I haven't practiced Karate in a while and I know that Tatsuki-chan is going to beat me…/i

Tatsuki-chan was phenomenal at Karate; she had even been kind enough to teach Orihime everything she knew, making Orihime about a black-belt level… but that still wasn't enough to be Tatsuki Arisawa.

iYeah, that's it! I'm uneasy about loosing to Tatsuki-chan again!/i Orihime tried reassuring herself, but no matter what she told herself, she still had that odd feeling that something terrible was about to happen.

"Onna, were you not going to meet Tatsuki Arisawa at the Karate dojo at 11:00?" Ulquiorra hinted to his Onna that if she stood around staring off into space any longer she would be late.

"Oh!" Orihime glanced at the clock and gasped. 10:40? Shoving the uneasiness away with a rush of adrenaline, the girl quickly ran into her room and changed into her Karate clothes. Running back to the door to slip on her shoes, she stopped. Not knowing what urge suddenly overtook her, Orihime turned and ran over to Ulquiorra and wrapped her arms around his neck, taking both of them by surprise.

A blush crept onto Orihime's face and Ulquiorra's face returned to his normal nonchalant expression. He really was getting used to physical contact with his Onna…

"I'll be back to cook dinner!" She leaned up onto her tip toes and kissed him. When had she become so bold? Orihime was slightly surprised to feel Ulquiorra's hands touching her, one on the small of her back and the other wrapped around her waist. A couple minutes later, Orihime pulled away.

"I'm going to be late," she quietly said as she lower her feet back flat on the ground. Ulquiorra simply nodded. Glancing once more at the clock, Orihime nearly stormed out the door without her belt, which she had laid by the door. Quickly grabbing the belt and tying it in record time, she turned one more time to tell Ulquiorra goodbye.

"I'll see you later!" She said in a sing-a-song voice, smiling brightly.

"Goodbye, Onna," Ulquiorra nodded and shut the door after his Onna, who had left the door open in the frenzy she had rushed out in.

The Cuatro Espada felt something was coming, like now was the calm before the storm…

And he knew the storm was coming soon. Very soon.

"Let's move out," Kuchiki Byakuya, Captain of the 6th Squad of the Gotei 13, who had been appointed leader of the special unit being sent to the World of the Living, commanded. He had received the OK from Kurotsuchi Mayuri, signaling that the human, Orihime Inoue, had left her apartment.

The Senkai Gate was opened, and the rather big special unit entered the Senkaimon to the World of the Living…

Ulquiorra Cifer felt apprehension rising within him. Should he have gone with his Onna to the Karate dojo?

Orihime rushed into the dojo at 11:00 exactly.

"There you are! Right on time," Tatsuki-chan walked over to her friend.

"Hi, Tatsuki-chan!" Orihime beamed.

"Yeah, yeah. Enough talking, let's see how good you are," the black-haired girl grinned. "Or should I say, let's see how many times I can beat you before we're done."

Orihime pouted, "That's not fair, Tatsuki-chan!"

Tatsuki ignored her friend's pouty face and launched a kick. Orihime quickly dodged and was immediately focused on her fight with Arisawa…

The Cuatro Espada took a seat on his Onna's couch and picked up a book that Orihime had set on the coffee table earlier.

iWuthering Heights/i

Ulquiorra wondered what the book was about; he had heard his Onna talk about it many times since he came to live with her. She would always ramble on about how it was such a romantic love story, but how it was also very sad and dark.

Opening to the first page, he began reading, when suddenly…

"You are to hide your reiatsu as much as possible. I have informed Urahara Kisuke and all of our other allies here in the World of the Living that they are not to meddle with the Espada's capture. Obey the Head Captains orders: bring the Espada back alive. Anyone who disobeys the orders, will be treated as an enemy and taken down," Kuchiki-taichou and the rest of the special unit reached the end of the Senkaimon…

Ulquiorra's eyes snapped up from the first page. This reiatsu! It was definitely Shinigami reiatsu. And from the power… it was half an army; to make matters worse they were heading his direction.

iWhat shall I do? I could easily fight and destroy every single Shinigami sent here… but that would only leave me on bad terms with Soul Society…/i The Cuatro Espada tired to think of a logical way out of the predicament he found himself in. The gigai he was in was making it hard to think straight; human panic was coursing through Ulquiorra's veins. All he knew at that moment were two things:

(1) He was being attacked by a military of extremely powerful Shinigami, and (2) He did not want to leave his Onna. She would panic and go hysterical when she noticed he was gone when she returned.

Ulquiorra remembered how she had looked after just a day thinking he was dead. This time, the Espada knew, he would not be back in a day. He didn't know if he'd ever return…

The Cuatro Espada had never felt this magnitude of dread before. He felt something heavy weighing down his chest. It was more painful than the wounds he had suffered during his final battle with Kurosaki Ichigo… Maybe this was what his Onna had described as a "broken heart".

It was extremely foolish for Ulquiorra to think that his "heart had broken", since he had barely a clue as to what exactly that meant, but something was telling him that that was exactly what was happening…

Orihime Inoue and Tatsuki Arisawa were fighting so intensely that they didn't sense the shift of reiatsu in the atmosphere…

"Stealth Forces: surround the apartment. The rest of the captains, vice-captains, and myself will infiltrate the dwelling and capture the Espada," Kuchiki-taichou ordered. Nodding to the other captains and vice-captains, they Shunpoed into the apartment.

Ulquiorra Cifer could feel them surround the apartment. He closed his eyes. Were they going to kill him? The Espada hoped that they would spare his life, not for his own sake, but his Onna's. He knew he deserved to die a painful death for all the sins he had committed during his time in Las Noches. Ulquiorra had never before seen his actions as sins… but that's what they had been. He was an arrancar, a hollow conscious of his actions, making him punishable in death.

"Ulquiorra Cifer," he did not open his eyes, nor move a muscle, when several of Soul Society's captains appeared in his Onna's living room. "Come peacefully with us, and you will not be harmed by us."

The Espada didn't fail to notice the ending of the statement. "…By us."

Did that mean that he was going to be put on trail in Soul Society? He could tell that the captain speaking was positive that some kind of condemned fate awaited the Cuatro Espada…

The captains noticed the determination with which Ulquiorra Cifer held himself back. He refused to fight, for what reasons, they did not know. They hated to admit it, but had the Espada chosen to fight, most of them would not have made it out alive; they also knew that Ulquiorra would have also escaped…

"I will come with you peacefully under one condition," the Cuatro Espada surprised the special unit.

"We are not here to negotiate," Kuchiki Byakuya stated simply.

"It had nothing to do with me or my fate," Ulquiorra calmly replied.

"What is your one condition?" Ukitake Jushiro was more than willing to grant the cooperating Espada one wish or condition.

It felt like it would tear him to shreds on the inside, but Ulquiorra knew what he had to do.

"Inform the Onna," Ulquiorra stopped for a second, "Orihime Inoue, that I will be executed in Soul Society, and that she is to stay in the World of the Living."

Ulquiorra Cifer had to break his resolve. His irrational human half was screaming at him for doing this, for not fighting back, while his hollow half was calm and collected to a certain point, allowing Ulquiorra to leave his Onna without a big scene, thought it hurt him unimaginably much. It felt as if the fires of Hell were searing the inside of his chest, tearing and ripping apart his heart.

Several of the captains exchanged a glance.

"That will be taken care of," Ukitake-taichou nodded. Why could no one but him and Kyoraku-taichou see the obvious torture the Cuatro Espada was putting himself through? Jushiro could only imagine what would compel the stoic arrancar to want to keep Orihime Inoue away from him. His mind wandered back to how Kuchiki Rukia had left Kurosaki-san, forbidding him to come after her. The white-haired captain felt a sense of déjà vu washing over him…

iHead Captain Yamamoto-san really didn't need to send such a big search party…/i Kyoraku would have much rather relaxed under a nice sakura tree while drinking some sake…

Ulquiorra Cifer didn't turn around or look back. He just walked straight ahead, wearing his stoic mask to hide the torturous pain he felt, meeting his fate head-on…

Orihime plopped down on the matted floor of the dojo.

"I'm exhausted!" She felt back onto her back and stared at the ceiling, breathing hard from the hours of vigorous fighting with Tatsuki-chan. She started thinking of what she should could when she got home…

Orihime remembered the boldness she had possessed before she ran out of the house and blushed. This didn't go unnoticed to her ever-observant friend.

"What is it, Inoue-chan?" Arisawa asked.

"Huh?" Orihime looked at her and blushed redder. "Oh, it's nothing."

Tatsuki pursed her lips. She knew it wasn't "nothing". Deciding not to pester Orihime about it anymore, she walked over to where she lay and pulled her up.

"Let's go get some ice cream!" Orihime exclaimed.

"Um… I'd rather not. It's too cold for me to eat ice cream," Actually, Tatsuki just didn't like ice cream all too much, but she didn't want to tell Hime-chan that.

"Oh, okay," Orihime smiled brightly. "Well I need to go start cooking dinner for me and Ulquiorra-san anyways."

"Why is Ulquiorra still living with you?" Tatsuki had been wondering for the past couple of hours why Orihime had let him stay in the first place, and why Ulquiorra Cifer hadn't looked for his own apartment.

"Oh em…" Orihime looked around nervously. "Look!"

Inoue pointed out the window, and when Tatsuki-chan turned to look, she quickly ran out the door, "Sorry, Tatsuki-chan! I have to go, I'll call you later!"

Tatsuki shook her head and wondered how her friend was always so exuberant.

"No…" Orihime sank to her knees as soon as she entered her apartment. She had thought she was only imagining things when she felt traces of captain-class reiatsu surrounding her apartment.

But now… Now she couldn't deny it. Ulquiorra was gone. Her beloved Espada had been taken away.

iWhy? Why why why why why!/i Orihime felt the tears beginning to stream down her face.

i"Ulquiorra-san!'/i Orihime shrieked. Why did something like this have to happen? She had just been reunited with him a short time ago… and now he was torn away from her! Was there some sort of curse on her prohibited her from keeping anyone she loved around for very long?

She sank into the floor, clutching her chest, breath coming faster.

"Ulquiorra-san," she whispered. He was really gone… There was no note, nothing. Not a single trace hinting at a struggle…

Why hadn't he fought back? Had the Shinigami really outnumbered him to that degree that even he could not defeat them?

Ulquiorra Cifer was gone. Orihime couldn't wrap her mind around the fact that she would probably never see her Espada's half-stoic expressions, that she'd never be able to see how he adapted to a human lifestyle…

And she hated to admit it, but the worst part about loosing him was the fact that now she had no one to spend all of her time with. Orihime's heart broke even more as she realized that she would never touch him again or hear his voice again.

She couldn't bring him back.

He had slipped away.

Just like when Kurosaki-san had killed him less than a week ago on top of one of Las Noches' domes…

Ulquiorra did not regret leaving the World of the Living peacefully. He did not regret his one last wish. He did not regret a single thing. The Cuatro Espada would be able to deal with any sentence the Central 46 decided for him.

Or so he told himself.

Had it really only been a couple of days since Ulquiorra-san had returned to her?

Tears continued to stream down her cheeks as held-back sobs escaped Orihime's throat. She remembered her dream… the darkness being pulled away. She remembered the uneasy feeling she had had before leaving for the dojo…

iI should have stayed. They wouldn't have taken him if I had been there… or at least not without taking me with him…/i Orihime couldn't stop blaming herself for everything.

Naïve as she was, Orihime was definitely not stupid. She knew that it was highly likely that the Central 46 would sentence Ulquiorra to death and execute him. And she couldn't do a think about it.

But… what if…

Kurosaki-san had been able to save Kuchiki-san, hadn't he? So why couldn't she save Ulquiorra-san?

With a sudden burst of adrenaline and hope, Orihime sprinted off towards the Urahara Store…


	18. Chapter 18

bChapter 18

Slipped Away/b

iNaïve as she was, Orihime was definitely not stupid. She knew that it was highly likely that the Central 46 would sentence Ulquiorra to death and execute him. And she couldn't do a thing about it.

But… what if…?

Kurosaki-san had been able to save Kuchiki-san, hadn't he? So why couldn't she save Ulquiorra-san?

With a sudden burst of adrenaline and hope, Orihime sprinted off towards the Urahara Store…/i

"Ulquiorra Cifer, Cuatro Espada," One of the senior members of the Central 46 spoke, voice echoing off of the walls of the enormous chamber. "It is extremely rare that we allow someone to defend themselves in these hearings. But seeing as you showed no signs of aggression since going to the World of the Living and even during your capture, we will allow you to speak and explain yourself."

Behind Ulquiorra's nonchalant mask, his mind was racing. The Central 46 were allowing him to defend himself and his seemingly hopeless case? He was an Espada, the sworn enemy of Soul Society and all Shinigami. So why would they give him such a "gift"?

iIf I find a way to prove myself innocent, I could return to my Onna and-/i Ulquiorra internally slapped himself. He was continuously dismayed to find that his human heart made him feel uncalled for amounts of hope.

Remembering that he was standing in his own trail case (though you couldn't really consider a hearing with the Central 46 in which you were being condemned to imprisonment or execution a "trail"…), he quickly gathered his thoughts.

"I do not know what I have done to be summoned to Soul Society and to appear in front of the Central 46, though I realize that I was considered an enemy during the war. I was previously an Espada in Aizen Sosuke's forces but have resigned from that position to live in the World of the Living," Ulquiorra expertly hid his true feelings.

iOnce an Espada, always an Espada,/i he thought, grimly.

"Why have you chosen your residence in the World the Living to be with Orihime Inoue?" the question caught Ulquiorra off guard, and he almost, ialmost/i, dropped his mask for a split second.

The Cuatro Espada knew that iI do not know/i would not be a sufficient answer for the Central 46, so his quick brain thought up another excuse, which wasn't exactly a lie.

"I had nowhere else to go; if I had returned to Las Noches, I would have been eliminated."

"iUrahara-san! Urahara-san/i!" Orihime burst through the doors of the Urahara Shop, shouting the shopkeeper's name as best she could whilst trying to catch her breath.

iPlease be here, Urahara-san!/i the frenzied girl stormed through the shop to the back.

"Ah, Inoue-san… what's the matter?" Urahara Kisuke's expression changed from friendly to worried in a split second.

"Urahara-san!" Orihime choked. "Ulquiorra-san! He… He… They took him!"

Falling to her knees, she clutched her hands to her chest over her heart as tears filled her eyes.

Urahara knelt down beside the devastated girl and placed a hand on her shoulder, "Let's go have some tea, shall we?"

The hysterias girl nodded. Orihime couldn't shake the feeling that the shopkeeper knew something about Ulquiorra's kidnapping already…

As the two walked to a small room in the back, Orihime sensed a rather familiar reiatsu coming from the room they were heading towards. She knew she had sensed it before, but she couldn't pinpoint when and where…

"Ah, Inoue-san," a white-haired man stood up and greeted Orihime kindly.

"U-Ukitake-taichou!" Orihime gaped. What was a Captain of the Gotei 13 doing in the Urahara Shop? It wasn't unheard of, but considering that Ulquiorra Cifer had been kidnapped the same day, Orihime knew that something was going on.

Jushiro placed a hand on the back of his neck and smiled sheepishly, "There's no need to be so formal, Inoue-san!"

"Hai," Orihime bowed before sitting down and taking the cup of tea Ukitake-san offered her. "Thank you."

Orihime couldn't find the energy or will power to smile. It felt as if the whole world was teetering on the brink of a ledge, about to fall of and sink into a deep black abyss. She didn't want to hear whatever it was that Jushiro and Kisuke had to say… her intuition was telling her that it would only tear her apart further. But then again, if she didn't listen to them, her own over-active imagination would come up with possibilities of what was going to happen to Ulquiorra in Soul Society, which would most likely be worse than what was really going to happen.

So she sat there, trying to keep from shifting around nervously, with eyes void of all emotions (or rather her hidden fear and worry).

It seemed like hours of procrastinating sipping of tea that Ukitake broke the awkward silence that had settled over the room, which told Orihime that she had been right that they were hiding something from her.

"Inoue-san…" Ukitake looked around, not sure how she should begin. The poor girl looked devastated as it was. How would she react to the news (even if weren't true, which Orihime wouldn't know) of Ulquiorra's "execution"? The captain had an urge to just tell Orihime that Ulquiorra's sentence hadn't been decided yet. But keeping his word to the Cuatro Espada, he somehow found the will-power to break the "news" to Orihime.

"Ulquiorra is going to be executed."

Orihime's world fell out from underneath her as she hit the floor, feeling her heart shatter completely like fragile glass and a single tear fall down her cheek before everything went black.

Ulquiorra stood nervously in the middle of the huge chamber, hiding his anxiety behind his ever-present mask. What would the Central 46's decision be?

It seemed like centuries before a voice echoed through the chamber.

"We do not know how to sentence you for the time being. As it stands now, you will not be executed, but I cannot guarantee this. You will be kept in high-security cell 2 until your sentence is decided."

Ulquiorra exhaled silently. He most likely wouldn't be executed… that was good, wasn't it? Yet why did Ulquiorra suddenly feel ecstatic and yet disappointed?

He would have to ponder his emotions during the time in his prison cell…

The Cuatro Espada kept quiet, both externally and internally, as the entire Stealth Force along with the Captains of the 6th and 10th Squads escorted him to his underground, high-security prison chamber.

"Inoue-san?" the white haired man gently shook the girl, worried. "Inoue-san?"

Orihime slowly blinked.

"Ukitake-taichou?" Why was he here? Orihime couldn't remember.

"Inoue-san!" Jushiro helped her sit up slowly.

Dizzy from the blood rushing to her heard, everything came back to Orihime in a flash.

Ulquiorra was gone. He was going to be executed. What if preparations for the execution were already in place? That would mean…

"Ulquiorra-san!" Orihime cried. She swore she wouldn't pass out again. Hiding her face in her hands, she felt a gentle hand on her shoulder.

"Inoue-san…" Ukitake didn't know what to say, but he felt an urge to comfort the crying girl; she was, after all, almost like a daughter to him, considering the many time's she'd been in Soul Society and visited him with Kuchiki Rukia.

Mind whirling, Orihime tried to think of some kind of solution that would save her sanity and Ulquiorra. Suddenly, remembering why she had come to the Urahara Shop in the first place, Orihime's eyes widened with hope.

"Urahara-san!" Orihime exclaimed, leaping to her feet and catching herself on the wall behind her.

"Careful, Inoue-san!" the Captain of the 10th Squad also jumped to his feet, ready to catch Orihime if she fell again.

Urahara looked around nervously, "Yes, Inoue-san?"

He waved his fan in front of his face, trying to make it seem like he needed more moving air in the room.

Ignoring the ex-captain's nervous movements, a rush of words escaped from Orihime's mouth, "I want to get to Soul Society. I know you can open a Senkai Gate for me. Just like the time that Kurosaki-san went to save Kuchiki-chan! There has to be isomething/i I can do!"

The orange-haired girl began to pace the room restlessly as she spoke, staring at the floor intently.

She had to save Ulquiorra-san. There was no one else who would, and she had no clue what she would do without him. As odd as it sounded, Orihime had gotten used to having another presence in her house, and loosing that presence tore a part of her with it. Also, she had strange suspicions that made her blush considering her feelings towards the Espada.

"Inoue-san…" Urahara paused. How was he supposed to tell her that if he opened a Senkai Gate for her they would both be considered enemies of Soul Society? As much as he didn't want to lie to Orihime, he couldn't think of another solution.

"Umm," Ukitake interrupted. "I need to go. I was sent here on a mission and just stopped to say hi to Urahara-san and then…"

"Of course! It was a pleasure to have tea with you again, Ukitake-san!" Urahara grinned, internally thankful for the captain's interruption.

Both Kisuke and Orihime watched Ukitake leave, staring at the now shut door for what seemed like hours.

"You aren't allowed to open a Senkai Gate, are you?" Orihime barely kept her voice from cracking. Urahara looked at her and noticed her eyes were still glued on the door, but were now staring into some other dimension and time.

The shopkeeper immediately wished he had another solution.

Orihime dreaded the answer she knew was coming. No, he couldn't.

Now what was she supposed to do?

Urahara's mind jumped. What if…?

"Inoue-san," Orihime snapped back to the present when she heard the excited change in Urahara Kisuke's voice. "I think I might have a way to get you to Soul Society."

"You'll open a Senkai Gate for me?" Orihime was ready to hug the ex-captain if it wasn't for the state of shock she was sent into due to his answer.

"No," Urahara was now wearing a sly grin. "iYou/i will."

Ulquiorra walked into his high-security chamber. There were no windows anywhere, but the room was still bright. The walls were a luminescent white, and the floor covered in an off white carpet. The only pieces of furniture were a black bed with white sheets and pillows, a black leather couch with a glass coffee table, and a rather large bamboo plant in the far corner.

Were all high-security prisoners given such luxury?

"Your food will be brought to you thrice a day. I will return in a couple of hours with your first mean," Ulquiorra just nodded his approval and waited for the door to close. After it was closed, his mind traveled back to the hearing…

What had been the strange mixture of emotions he had felt? Now that he pondered it… it seemed like he had been ready to die. Or did he want to die? But he ididn't/i want to die because of his Onna. She was probably worried out of her mind, wondering where Ulquiorra had gone. What if she went out and started looking for him and got lost and met some vermin in an alley and…

Ulquiorra frowned. His Onna's wild imagination seemed to be rubbing off on him…

Frowning more intensely, he turned his mind back to what had happened during the hearing.

iThe Central 46 called this "high-security chamber 2". Does that mean that there is an occupant in the first high-security chamber?/i Ulquiorra pondered who could pose as much of a threat to Soul Society as they thought that he, the ex-Cuatro Espada, did? The only threat he could think of was Aizen, whom Ichigo had killed. So who was it?

iPerhaps a fellow Espada survived?/i

And the Hogyoku… Now that he thought about it, Ulquiorra realized that no one had spoken to him about the Hogyoku or Aizen since he went to live with his Onna. He was smart enough to realize that the obvious tension in the atmosphere in Karakura Town and Soul Society was gone, most likely meaning the enemy had been defeated.

Unbeknownst to Ulquiorra Cifer, Aizen Sosuke was still alive. In the high-security cell next to him…


	19. Chapter 19

**Chapter 19**

**It's Not My Time**

_"You'll open a Senkai Gate for me?" Orihime was ready to hug the ex-captain if it wasn't for the state of shock she was sent into due to his answer._

_"No," Urahara was now wearing a sly grin. "iYou/i will."_

_Unbeknownst to Ulquiorra Cifer, Aizen Sosuke was still alive. In the high-security cell next to him…_

Kuchiki Rukia had been sitting by Kurosaki Ichigo's side for three days straight now, no sleep, no food.

"Kuchiki-chan…" Ichigo's father knocked quietly and then entered his son's bedroom. "You need to eat something and then get some sleep."

Rukia shook her head weakly. How could she sleep? This was all her fault… If she hadn't given Ichigo his Shinigami powers in the first place, he wouldn't be lying in a coma in front of her right now…

"Come on now, Kuchiki-san…" Kurosaki Isshin slowly walked over to the raven-haired girl and placed a hand on her shoulder. "You don't want Ichigo waking up to you with dark circles under your eyes, do you?"

Rukia sighed. He was probably right. Slowly she stood up and made her way down the stairs to the kitchen, where Yuzu, who had already prepared a warm meal for the exhausted Shinigami, smiled at her warmly.

"Thank you, Yuzu," Rukia fought to keep a yawn back and smiled tiredly at the girl.

After she had finished her first meal in three days, Rukia half-crawled up the stairs to Ichigo's closet, the only place in the Kurosaki house she could get a full-night's rest, and curled up against the closet wall. She was fast asleep as soon as she closed her eyes…

"How am I supposed to open a Senkai Gate?" Orihime Inoue exclaimed. Had Urahara-san gone insane? She didn't have the power to open a Senkai Gate… she couldn't even fight very well! But her master healing and defensive skills made up for her lack of offensive skills… Would those skills be enough to open a Senkai Gate and save Ulquiorra-san?

Urahara Kisuke just grinned and simply stated, "Follow me."

Orihime wasn't surprised when the shopkeeper led her to the well-known underground training room. The thing that surprised her was the person, or rather cat, that was sitting there waiting for the two.

"Yoruichi-san!" Orihime ran up to the cat and hugged it, nearly suffocating her.

"Don't choke me!" Yoruichi pulled herself out of the girl's strangling embrace and sat down on the ground.

"Sorry," Orihime pouted, casting her eyes to the floor.

"It's alright," Orihime was surprised to hear the change in the cat's voice. Looking up, she saw a fully-clothed, human Yoruichi standing several feet away.

"How'd you change so fast?" Orihime gaped in awe.

"It doesn't matter. Right now there are more important things to worry about."

Orihime nodded.

"Okay, I will leave you two alone," Urahara nodded at the two and disappeared from the training room in the blink of an eye.

"So, Orihime," Yoruichi began, "Why do you want to save Ulquiorra?"

"Umm…" Orihime thought about it, turning bright rouge when she realized that she wanted to save him because she felt pulled to him like a magnet, even more so now that he was going to be executed.

"I…" she didn't know how she should reply to Yoruichi's question.

Why idid/i she want to save him? For the first time in a long time, Orihime felt helpless. Even in Hueco Mundo, as a captive to her now beloved Cuatro Espada, she hadn't been helpless. She had been captured for her powers…

So why did this make her feel helpless?

Orihime took a deep breath. Why?

Why? That was the question…

"I," Orihime hesitated. "I… think I l-love him."

She burned redder than before. Why had she just said that?

But then again… Orihime wondered if she really felt that way. Her heart told her she was right to say that she loved him by fluttering uncontrollably. But her common sense and logic was screaming at her, calling her an idiot for falling for the enemy. It wasn't just falling for the enemy… it was the fact that she knew him about two months. And that he was the enemy.

Yoruichi nodded and said, "Alright. Then I will teach you how to open a Senkai Gate."

Ulquiorra stared at the wall, mind blank. He refused to think about anything. Had he been a normal human, or even a normal hollow or plus soul, that would have been impossible, but due to his vigorous, unrelenting training as an ex-Arrancar it was very possible.

Several boring hours later, the Cuatro Espada still sat in the same position. He hadn't moved a single muscle.

The sudden opening of his door was the only reason Ulquiorra turned his head to look who disturbed his silence.

"Ulquiorra Cifer," a man in a white lab coat shifted his weight from foot to foot nervously. "Mayuri Kurotsuchi-taichou wants your gigai."

Deciding it wasn't worth pondering or fussing about, Ulquiorra nodded and quickly left his gigai. He quickly flash stepped to the door, causing the man to scream like a girl and fall over backwards.

Ulquiorra resisted the urge to roll his eyes.

_Trash._

Tossing the gigai out of his room, he flash stepped back to his previous spot on the couch.

The man quickly scrambled to his feet and hastily locked the door, hoping all the while that his taichou hadn't been monitoring at that moment. Grabbing the gigai, he sprinted back to the laboratory…

Ulquiorra sat there like a statue, trying to ignore the thought slowly eating it's way into his brain.

_Sonidoing was becoming harder_.

Orihime dodged another one of Yoruichi's attacks. Rolling behind a rock, she tried to catch her breath. The two women had been fighting for about half an hour now. Orihime felt the sweat running down her forehead.

How was this teaching her how to open a Senkai Gate?

"Orihime?" the orange-haired girl looked up, wide eyed, immediately recognizing the voice.

"Shuno?" Orihime stared at one of her Shun Shun Rikka, wondering why he had suddenly materialized.

"Do you really want to save Ulquiorra-san?" Shuno stared her in the eye seriously.

"Y-yes," Orihime said. Was Shuno going to help her?

"Okay," suddenly the rest of Orihime's Shun Shun Rikka appeared out of thin air. "We're going to teach you how to."

Orihime's eyes widened.

"Surprise," Tsubaki said sarcastically after a few moments. "Now are we going to start, or are you going to sit there for another hour gaping at us?"

"Y-yeah!" Orihime jumped to her feet.

"Yoruichi!" Orihime called. Hopping out from behind the rock, Orihime barely avoided another attack.

"Santen Kesshun!" Orihime shouted, blocking another one of the woman's endless attacks.

Yoruichi grinned, "It seems you've become strong enough to learn the technique Urahara hypothesized about."

Orihime knotted her eyebrows, confused. "Huh?"

"Kisuke has had a pretty good idea about your potential for a long time now, Orihime," Yoruichi relaxed her stance, going from her fighting-pose to a normal conversational posture.

"Oh," Orihime didn't know what to think or to say to that. If Urahara-san had known about her potential, why hadn't he done anything to bring that potential to her attention? Maybe she wouldn't have been so useless all those times before when Kurosaki-san and Ishida-kun had to protect her…

Orihime knit her eyebrows together in confusion and irritation.

Yoruichi chuckled at the combination of emotions on Orihime's face. Irritation was one of the emotions Orihime rarely felt.

"Now let's begin your training," the feline-woman grinned.

"But… haven't we been training for a while now?" Orihime looked at Yoruichi-san with confusion. What had they been doing for the past half an hour?

"No," Yoruichi's grin spread further across her face. "The ireal/i training starts now."

Kuchiki Rukia tossed and turned in her sleep. Her dreams were full of dark shadows and demons waiting around every corner, chasing her and making her feel like a rabbit running away from hunting dogs…

i It seemed like after hours upon hours of running that she turned the last corner of her maze-like dream. Standing at the end of the maze were two people she knew all too well.

"Nii-sama! Ichigo!" Rukia gaped. What were they doing here? And wasn't Ichigo supposed to be lying in a coma?

Ignoring the logic running through her brain like a bullet train, the black-haired Shinigami took off running towards the two men.

It seemed like the further and faster she ran, the further away her brother and friend were. Finally, after what seemed like weeks of running, Rukia reached her brother.

She would have stopped and greeted her older brother, the captain of the 6th Squad, but the sight that was waiting for her behind him was far too shocking.

Ichigo had collapsed, unknown to Rukia. He was on his hands and knees, obviously experiencing some kind of excruciating pain. A split second later, black and red reiatsu shot out of him like a bullet shot from a gun. It materialized next to him and took the shape of Hichigo, Ichigo's hollow powers.

Rukia couldn't move. She watched in horror as Hichigo drew his sword and brought the tip of it to the top of Ichigo's back. The latter was too busy feeling pain that he never noticed the sword at his back until it pierced his body.

Ichigo screamed. And screamed and screamed.

Rukia's eyes widened.

"iIchigo!/i" she screamed. She gathered her strength to start running again, but was stopped by the words that left her brother's lips.

"Do you want to further add to your crimes by touching a dead man?" Rukia stopped dead in her tracks. Her eyes widened even more.

"Nii-sama…" Rukia turned to look at her brother. But her brother was nowhere to be seen. In his place stood a different red haired Shinigami.

"Renji!" What was her best friend doing here?

Déjà vu overwhelmed the black-haired woman. It was just like that time in the rain when she was taken back to Soul Society… Back when Ichigo was still young and inexperienced. She turned to stare at Ichigo.

It pained Rukia deeply to see the now powerful orange-haired youth collapse on the ground, bleeding again, just like before. Blue reiatsu was slowly seeping out of him and evaporating into thin air.

Rukia took a single step towards Ichigo. Before she could take another, a strong hand grabbed her arm and began pulling her away.

"Let go!" Rukia shrieked. Turning to hit whoever was pulling her away from Ichigo, she stopped dead in her tracks.

In the midst of the shadows and demons that had been following her was a Senkai Gate, open and waiting for her and Renji, who was pulling her, to step inside, sealing Rukia away from Ichigo forever.

"NOO!" Rukia screamed.

/iRukia woke with a start.

"Kuchiki-chan!" an anxious voice whispered.

Yuzu had been trying to wake her for several minutes now.

"You were crying, so I tried to wake you up, but you wouldn't wake up… and then you… you screamed and I knew I had to wake you…"

"It's alright. Thank you, Yuzu," Rukia felt ten times more tired than before she had fallen asleep.

Ulquiorra had finally lost the battle with his mind. He was now pondering everything he had been holding back for hours now.

The thought that most ate at his mind was why it was becoming harder to Sonido.

The Cuatro Espada had known that there would be extra security measures taken to prevent his escape, but he had not anticipated loosing that simple ability so soon.

What would happen if (when) he got out of his high security prison cell? Would he regain his powers, or would he forever be the same as the trash he would walk along with every day in the World of the Living?

His thoughts were interrupted by the opening of his cell door.

"Ulquiorra Cifer," a voice sneered. "I am to take you to a meeting with the head of the Central 46 and Head Captain Yamamoto."

Ulquiorra raised an eyebrow slightly and stared at the captain who had come to get him. He was a brute. His hair was long and stuck out in several different directions. The Espada could sense the unruly reiatsu shooting off of this man like fireworks.

Standing up, Ulquiorra decided to go with this man. Perhaps this meeting with the head of the Central 46 and Yamamoto would turn out to be in his favor?

As he walked behind the huge, muscular captain, he couldn't resist rolling his eyes when the Stealth Forces appeared out of no where to surround him and keep him from escaping.

After several minutes of walking at a brisk pace, the brute of a captain stopped and knocked on a door.

"Come in," the voice of the Head Captain said. Ulquiorra was shoved in the door before having the door shut tightly behind him.

The Espada would have been extremely perturbed if it hadn't been for the reiatsu that suddenly hit him like a brick wall.

Sitting there, handcuffed to the chair he was sitting in with one hand and bound with strange black cloth all over his body, and having tea with two of the most powerful men in Soul Society, was Aizen Sosuke.

"Aizen," Ulquiorra growled. Everyone of his instincts was telling him to attack the brown haired man.

"Calm down, Ulquiorra Cifer, or you will be handcuffed and restrained as he is," Genryuusai stated matter-of-factly.

Taking a deep breath, Ulquiorra gathered his usual stoic composure and took a seat across the table from his previous "employer", who was wearing his trademark saccharine smile.

Ulquiorra wondered if his reiatsu would be ask weak as Aizen's soon… It was as though the short amount of time Aizen had spent locked away here in Soul Society had drained his reiatsu 90%.

"Now," the head of the Central 46 began. "I have gathered you three together to talk with you about what should be done regarding you, Aizen Sosuke, and you, Ulquiorra Cifer."

Ulquiorra had a feeling that his draining reiatsu was soon going to be one of his lesser worries.

He would never admit it, not even to himself, but he felt fear. A deep, bone-rattling fear. He knew that his fate was hanging on a thin thread.

And he had a feeling scissors were looming dangerously near that thread…

Ulquiorra was silently amazed that all of a sudden, the past several weeks were flashing through his mind. Meeting his Onna, dying, miraculously being rebirthed for unknown reasons, living in the World of the Living with his Onna…

He realized that he had come to see Orihime Inoue as a constant in his life. She was always there, shining like his own private sun.

A sense of déjà vu caught up with the Cuatro Espada's thoughts. He felt the same fear he felt when he had died, reaching out to his Onna, trying to hold on to her, hoping that she could somehow stop him from turning to ash.

Ulquiorra realized that he had planned on staying with his Onna until she sent him away, until she left him. And even then he would stay with her, following her to the ends of the earth, to the ends of all dimensions.

He suddenly wondered if Orihime felt the same, if she had become used to seeing him every waking moment.

A thought raced through his head for the splittest of seconds. iWhat if she loves me?/i

Ulquiorra tried to push that thought away, knowing it was weak and human, but the more he pushed it away, the more it manifested into more power thoughts, like iMaybe I am experiencing what the human race refers to as "love"/i.

With a sudden burst of will power, Ulquiorra decided he wasn't going to let the two men sitting at the table with him determine his fate. He was going to take that precariously hung string into his own hands for the first time since his creation by Aizen Sosuke. He wasn't going to allow even a hint of fear tint his eyes or expression.

Ulquiorra Cifer was going to fight whatever kept him from his Onna, and his Onna from him.

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><p>Please review. I'm slightly taken aback that I've only gotten 5 reviews on 15 chapters and 0 on the 2nd chapter of my Drarry fic.<p>

It's rather discouraging. But I'll keep writing, even if it takes me years to finish.

Next chapter won't be up till I've written it. I have just over 1.5k words so far. Next chapter should be up in two weeks time at the most. One week left of school and then freedom for one and a half months. Same thing for my other fics.


	20. Chapter 20

Are you excited? I am. I didn't remember having this written out. So I'm going to post this now. I'm planning on working on the next chapter (of which i have about one page in Word typed so far) for an hour or so tonight. I had to go back and reread Chapter 19 to kind of catch up with what I had written and where I was going with this fanfic. I'll be rereading this chapter in a minute, too, before continuing work on chapter 21.

I hope you enjoy this long awaited chapter! (Literally; it's almost been an entire year since I last updated. ;_;)

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><p><strong>Chapter 20<strong>

**New Divide**

A thought raced through his head for the shortest of seconds. iWhat if she loves me?/i

Ulquiorra tried to push that thought away, knowing it was weak and human, but the more he pushed it away, the more it manifested into more power thoughts, like iMaybe I am experiencing what the human race refers to as "love"/i.

With a sudden burst of will power, Ulquiorra decided he wasn't going to let the two men sitting at the table with him determine his fate. He was going to take that precariously hung string into his own hands for the first time since his creation by Aizen Sosuke. He wasn't going to allow even a hint of fear tint his eyes or expression.

Ulquiorra Cifer was going to fight whatever kept him from his Onna, and his Onna from him.

"Aizen Sosuke, Ulquiorra Cifer," Head Captain Yamamoto spoke with authority. "You should both be well aware of the serious crimes you committed against Soul Society. Aizen Sosuke, you for betraying Soul Society and sending it into chaos and panic, creating numerous Arrancar with the purpose of war against Soul Society, injuring several captain-class Shinigami, and creating the Visoreds. Ulquiorra Cifer, your crimes consist of serving under Aizen Sosuke, injuring the Substitute Shinigami, Kurosaki Ichigo, and capturing the human, Inoue Orihime," Ulquiorra stiffened slightly, though this went unnoticed to everyone else.

"Also, there are several questions surrounding your reappearance in the World of the Living after being allegedly killed by Kurosaki Ichigo."

Ulquiorra bit his tongue. The trash telling him what his crimes were was all too obviously implying that he had been willingly serving under Aizen Sosuke.

But that was definitely not the case. Yes, that brown eyed man with the saccharine smile had created him and called him part of "his" army, but the only reason Ulquiorra stayed loyal was for survival.

The trash sitting at the table with him had no clue what it was like living in Las Noches. Ulquiorra had remained loyal to Sosuke because he had been intelligent enough to notice power and a chance to gain more power for himself. Becoming Aizen Sosuke's Cuatro Espada seemed to be a good choice at the time, but turned out to have several cons.

For one, he was a permanent enemy to the World of the Living and Soul Society, which kept him from several large sources of knowledge which he was so keen on. Also, he was forced to be alone most of the time, though that really didn't bother him, since he was a lonely soul to begin with.

The pros probably outweighed the cons, now that Ulquiorra thought about it.

Had I not accepted Aizen's proposal to become an arrancar, I would have never gained the knowledge and experience I have in several areas. Also, I would have never been ordered to kidnap my Onna and bring her to Las Noches…

Orihime's eyes widened, "Inner world?"

"Yes," Yoruichi nodded. "It's similar to what a Shinigami considers their 'inner world'. It's a place where you and your materialized powers can meet. The purpose and function of your inner world is still being researched by Urahara."

Orihime nodded, knitting her eyebrows in determination. "How do I get to my inner world?"

"That's what we're going to figure out today," Yoruichi watched her seriously. "Urahara has several theories, one of them being the same method that Shinigami use to access their inner world, though personally I highly doubt that method will word."

"Oh," Orihime's determination changed into confusion. How was she supposed to reach her inner world?

Orihime dropped to the ground and sat there, cross-legged and concentrating all of her reiatsu into her hairpins. She closed her eyes and tried relaxing the rest of her body.

Yoruichi watched, awed, as the orange haired girl's hairpins began to glow, and finally, with a burst of light materialized.

Orihime let out a breath she didn't know she had been holding and slowly opened her eyes. She smiled happily when she saw all of her Shun Shun Rikka smiling (except for Tsubaki, he was irritated; as always) at her.

"Hey guys," she breathed, beaming up at her powers, proud of herself for getting them to materialize so easily.

"What do you need us for?" Tsubaki half growled. He had been napping before Orihime had begun calling him and the other Shun Shun Rikka out to materialize.

"I need to get to my inner world."

All of the little fairies suddenly became very still and stiff. Their eyes widened and stared at the girl in shock. Her inner world?

"What is it?" Orihime was worried. Her powers were watching her, slightly alarmed.

"Well," the friendly blonde-haired Shuno began. "It's incredibly hard to show you your "inner world" and…"

"Why?" Tsubaki cut in, his usually irritated tone replaced by an alien expression of unease.

"I need to get into Soul Society and open a Senkai Gate by myself."

The Shun Shun Rikka's eyes widened further.

"What?" the six little fairies cried in unison.

Orihime shifted nervously. She had a feeling their reaction wasn't a good sign.

"Yeah," Orihime smiled sheepishly.

"You're insane!" Tsubaki shouted with half of his usual menace.

"Orihime-chan…" one of the smallest fairies, Ayame, began shyly.

"It's extremely dangerous," Shuno began, interrupting whatever Ayame was going to say.

"I don't care," came Orihime's determined answer. She had to get to Soul Society. She couldn't imagine what would happen if she didn't get there in time…

What if Ulquiorra only had an hour to live before being executed?

That thought drove Orihime forward. Her resolve hardened instantly into an impenetrable, steal wall. It didn't matter how many stones, or even boulders, that the universe would throw at her. She would avoid being crushed by every single one of them.

She had to. She couldn't think of the 'what if's' or the 'maybe's'.

"I don't care," she repeated, determination ringing clearly in her voice.

The Shun Shun Rikka shared a long glance before turning back around to face Orihime.

"Alright," Tsubaki said after a moment's silence, some of his irritation returning, but quickly turning into a sly grin. "This is going to be fun."

"In order for you to prove that you're not Soul Society's enemy you're going to have to obliterate Aizen Sosuke," Ukitake Jushiro slowly stated. Ulquiorra's mouth nearly dropped open in shock.

Surely 20,000 years' imprisonment was enough of a punishment?! Why did he have to kill him?

Ulquiorra became irritated with himself. Since when had he become so… morally aware? It had been nothing for him to kill someone if ordered to or even if that particular human was annoying him too much. Was that human gigai Urahara had given him really impacting him this much internally?

"Is that all I must do to be able to return to the World of the Living?" Ulquiorra stoically asked. It sounded more like a statement.

The white haired captain simply nodded before walking off again, closing the door to Ulquiorra's high security prison cell behind him quietly.

The green-eyed ex-Espada stared at the door for a second before shaking his head.

iYou've become Trash yourself, Ulquiorra Cifer,/i he thought with half-mustered disgust. He couldn't bring himself to feel the aversion towards the human race like he had felt for decades upon decades.

He really was changing. For the worse or for the better, only time would tell.

Orihime's eyes widened and her knees threatened to give out under her at the immense spiritual pressure her Shun Shun Rikka suddenly let out. Each of them bowed their head and concentrated all of their reiatsu onto one spot right in front of them. A small ball of light formed and slowly grew.

iIt's like an hollow's cero!/i Orihime thought, shocked. Without a second's warning, the small fairy creatures shot the ball of reiatsu filled light at Orihime, who barely had time to blink before it collided with her.

She felt a strange tugging sensation on all of her limbs. A split second later, it felt as if her entire body collapsed in on itself, like a rubber band that had been pulled apart and then let go of. Orihime clamped her eyes shut, scared to see what was happening.

Slowly, she opened her eyes. Her eyes widened and she gasped at the strange world around her. Everything was a strange swirl of colors, both dark and light, that was the most beautiful thing the orange haired girl had ever seen. Orihime glanced around and her jaw dropped in amazement when she saw her Shun Shun Rikka watching her, now the same size as she was. Or rather, she was the same size that they were.

"So this is my inner world?" Orihime asked tentatively. After watching the faeries nod, she turned around and nearly fainted at the sight that was waiting for her. There, at the "center" of her inner world, stood Ulquiorra. It seemed that all the colors that were swirling shapelessly around her were originating from him.

iThe center of my world,/i Orihime's eyes widened at the thought. He really did mean the world to her.

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><p>All of my formatting is disappearing when I upload chapters, so I'm just going to finish writing and posting, and then go back to the first chapter and edit as well as format it correctly.<p> 


	21. Chapter 21

**Chapter 21**

_"So this is my inner world?" Orihime asked tentatively. After watching the faeries nod, she turned around and nearly fainted at the sight that was waiting for her. There, at the "center" of her inner world, stood Ulquiorra. It seemed that all the colors that were swirling shapelessly around her were originating from him.  
><em>The center of my world,_ Orihime's eyes widened at the thought. He really did mean the world to her._

"Let's get started!" An overzealous Tsubaki said loudly. Orihime nodded, not taking her eyes off of Ulquiorra, who stood unmoving and stoic as ever as colors flowed out of him like a waterfall that defied the laws of gravity.

"So what do I have to do?" Orihime finally tore her gaze away from the black-haired ex-Espada.

"Fight," Tsubaki grinned. He was going to enjoy this more than he should. Orihime's faced was set with determination as she took up a defensive stance.

"No, _you_ have to attack _us_," he smirked. Orihime's stance faltered for a split second before she recovered and charged at the faeries.

_For Ulquiorra-kun,_ she thought, solidifying her resolve to rescue him no matter what stood in her way as she clashed with the faeries that symbolized her powers.

Orihime managed to land one hit on Hinagiku before she was thrown back by Tsubaki.

"Is that all you've got?" Yes, he was enjoying this more than he should be.

Ulquiorra found it easier to sleep through the following days. Thoughts of morals and intentions of killing Aizen raced through his head when he wasn't asleep, and he was plagued with images of Orihime taking comfort from Ichigo, forgetting he even existed. He had never imagined he would know what it was like to be in the role Orihime had been in when he had captured her.

He now knew what it felt like to hope and hope that that one person would come and save him. He now knew what it felt like to be weak, a prisoner.

A knock on his cell door made Ulquiorra's eyes fly open; he always awoke quickly and without much yawning or stretching.

He was surprised to see the Taichou of the 4th squad and her Fukutaichou enter the high-security cell moments later.

Having learned that respect, even if he felt no urge to give it, would increase the people who didn't see him as a threat, he bowed slightly.

"Ulquiorra Cifer, Yamamoto-taichou would like to see you," the finality in his words were all the cue he needed.

It was time.

"Hah!" Orihime puffed, breaths coming in short pants. Her faeries lie on the ground exhausted and defeated. As Tsubaki fell from his knees to the ground, green reiatsu-like light rose from all of the little figures in front of her. It formed into an orb at Orihime's eye-level and floated towards her.

Suddenly Orihime felt a rush of power and energy flow into her. Impulsively, she reached forward and grabbed the orb. She had to close her eyes as the orb burst into a blinding light and seeped through every shadow, dissipating all darkness.

With a jolt Orihime opened her eyes to see Yoruichi kneeling infront of her.

"And?" she raised an eyebrow questioninly.

Orihime grinned proudly. "I did it!"

She could feel awareness pulsing through her veins, and she just knew that she could open a Senkai Gate. Had someone asked her how she knew that she could do it, she wouldn't have known how to answer. It felt like second-nature, an instinct she had long held buried underneath layers upon layers of subconscious barriers.

'How ironic,' thought Ulquiorra as he scanned the scene before him. Aizen Sosuke was bound and immobilized in front of him, on the very precipice where his journey had begun so many months ago. The same precipice that had Kurosaki Ichigo, his friends, the Onna, and all of the Gotei 13 despairing.

Ulquiorra breathed in, realizing that soon he would be allowed to leave this place, hopefully never to return, to see his Onna – to see Orihime – again.

He was handed a plain katana. He gripped the hilt tightly and examined the blade before him. It shone brightly, reflecting sunlight. The reflection of his green eyes stared back at him; a glimmer of an unknown emotion passed through them before he lowered the katana and slowly made his way towards Aizen.

"What will you do without me, my precious Cuatro Espada?" Aizen's tone angered Ulquiorra.

"I will do more," the ex-Arrancar stated, "than you could ever have envisioned when you created my brethren and me."

For the first time, he allowed his hatred and anger to flash visibly in his eyes. He raised the katana, held it there for a brief moment, and swung it back, cleanly taking off his creator's head.

The crowd that had gathered around him was silent.

The katana fell to the ground next to Aizen's head.

Nearby, a Senkai gate opened.

Before Orihime could get her bearings, she felt a hand in hers. Her eyes widened.

"Ulquiorra-kun!" She flung her arms around his neck, tears streaming down her face. His name became a mantra to the young woman.

He couldn't help the flutter that filled his torso in reaction to her obvious affection. "Onna."

He gently removed himself from her embrace before placing a hand under her chin, tilting her head upwards. Orihime's cheeks burned crimson and he lowered his lips to meet hers.

Although it was only a small peck, the couple knew that it was a symbol for something neither of them were prepared to say aloud.

Yoruichi cleared her throat from several feet away.

Orihime's eyes widened; she had obviously forgotten that she had had a companion on her way from the World of the Living. Her companion simply chortled.

"I've got some business to take care of here," Yoruichi stated. "You two can go ahead and head back."

Ulquiorra nodded at her.

"Thank you, Yoruichi-chan," Orihime smiled.

"Ulquiorra," the feline woman turned towards him. "Urahara wants to see you as soon as possible back in the World of the Living. Something about a new gigai or something."

A split second later, she was gone, having turned into a cat and sprinted off.

"Let's go home, Ulquiorra-kun," Orihime grabbed his hand, gripping it tightly.

He looked down into her eyes and saw something there that sent another jolt of flutters through his stomach along with a dose of fear. Fear of the unknown.

And love was completely uncharted territory for the Cuatro Espada.

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><p>I'm sensing about one more chapter in this fanfic. Then I'll be going back and editing all of it. :3 Wooo.<p>

Home stretch, guys.


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